A 23-year-old woman from a village near Warminster has set off on a 4,500km charity cycle ride for Wiltshire Air Ambulance, who helped her mum after she broke her back.

Flora Spencer, who lives in Stourton, started her trip to Istanbul, Turkey, with friend George Howard of Kington Magna, Dorset, from Stourhead House on Saturday.

The pair, who will be cycling 130km a day through France, Austria, Romania, and Greece during the five-week trip, will raise cash for the air ambulance and for Help for Heroes.

Miss Spencer, who graduated from Bath Spa University in business management this summer, said: “I wanted to do it for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance because they helped my mum when she broke her back about five years ago when she fell off a horse near our home.

“They are completely reliant on donations so it’s a great cause.

“George wanted to do it for Help for Heroes because he’s from an army background; his father, Jonathan, is in the army.”

Mr Howard, 22, who graduated from Leeds University this summer studying sports science, is planning to join the army next year.

The graduates, who are funding the trip themselves, will be on a tight budget and are hoping for free hospitality along the way.

Miss Spencer said: “We’ve both been working to fund the trip. I’ve been working in the Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford and George has been doing labouring jobs.

“We’ll have roughly about £15 a day for everything. We’re hoping to just rough it, camping along the way.

“I think we’ll have to stay in hostels at some point along the way just to get showers.

“I know someone who did a similar trip and he said just knock on doors to ask for good places to camp at and they offered him a place to stay. I don’t think my parents would be too happy me going on my own.

“We’re really excited but we know it’s going to be tough.”

You can sponsor the pair at www.wix.com/George Howard/Home2Istanbul.

The graduates will also be updating a blog on the website during the trip charting their progress to Istanbul.