ESTHER Amery and Leigh-anne Crossley are more than half-way to smashing their new target of £2,000 after reaching their original goal of £1,000 in just a few days.

The girls, who are on a charity bike ride across South East Asia, set of on September 16 and are not due back in ths country until December.

So far they have endured punctures, and the pain of cycling up mountains and cycling along beaten dirt tracks.

After a Vietnam visa scare the duo were pleased to finally cross the border.

Esther said: ‘Once we knew we could cross the Laos boarder into Vietnam we made the necessary travel arrangements.

‘Due to the remoteness on the Vietnamese side it was only possible to take a bus over the border than cycle.

‘We watched nervously as both bikes were hoisted on to the roof of the bus as we were crammed into a 22-seater vehicle with 27 people including their cargo.

‘The roads are in a terrible state so we feared that our bikes were taking a bashing.’

This week, the girls have gone from climbing the high peaks of northern Laos to the bright lights of Hanoi and have become accustom to the sound of the horn while dodging their way through scooters, trucks and buses coming from all directions and travelling at high speeds.

The next major milestone for the pair is reaching Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.