Wisbech Rugby club was presented with a life-saving defibrillator by three friends at its vice president’s lunch on Saturday.

Wisbech sportsman Liam Knight, 20, and his friends Thomas Stokes, 21, and Matthew Brigham, 19, from Peterborough, cycled 328 miles across the Alps in four days.

The epic ride, from Geneva to Milan, raised £2,100 for charity Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) in memory of Liam’s aunt, Suzanne Duffy, who died of the condition in 2005.

The friends’ route took them over the second highest pass to the Alps, Nufenen, which even the Tour De France avoids. They paid all their own expenses for the challenge, so every penny donated went straight to the charity.

National swimming champion Liam said: “It was a great experience. We were cycling through 6 inches of snow at times, with drifts of 8ft. We even had to carry our bikes at some points.”

Wisbech chairman Richard Pettit said: “We are truly grateful to the lads for their brilliant fundraising efforts.

“Their efforts have not only provided us with a defibrillator but also raised invaluable extra funds for the SADS charity to allow them to fund much needed research into the causes of this devastating syndrome.”