'We're riding children's scooters for 157 miles'

News imageJoel Redhead A man holding two black push scooters while standing in a field. He is wearing a backpack, a black bucket hat, a white vest, black shorts and trainers. In front of him taking the selfie is a man wearing a white Nike-tick hat and a grey coat, with a beige backpack. They are standingd in a field.Joel Redhead
Joel Redhead and Shane Cole started their challenge in West Kirkby on Saturday

Two men have hopped on to kids' scooters for 157 miles to raise money for a baby loss charity.

TikTokers Joel Redhead, 32, from Hull, and Shane Cole, 33, from Coventry, set off from West Kirby beach in Wirral on Saturday and are due to finish in Hull today, after a "very tough" journey.

The men, who both have thousands of followers online, are doing it for Chasing Rainbows, which helped Joel's family when his nephew Jude died shortly after he was born.

Kitted out with knee supports and large backpacks, Joel said: "The kids are loving it. We're getting laughed at and belittled by a lot of them but we're here for it!"

News imageSupplied Two men in purple hoodies, wearing shorts and trainers and backpacks, are sitting on a promenade in front of the sea with two purple scooters in front of them.Supplied
The pair are raising money for baby loss charity Chasing Rainbows

Scootering through Brough in East Yorkshire this morning, Joel, known on TikTok as Redheadresidence, said he had not been on a scooter since he was a child.

He said: "We've come across paths that are made out of sand and gravel. All [those] little factors just absolutely ruin your joints.

"Our knees, our elbows, our shoulders, our hands... everything feels completely broken at this point.

"It's been a very tough one but all our community have come together massively and supported us."

When their first two scooters started to fall apart after the second day and their lower backs were in "complete agony", they sold the scooters in a raffle to raise money for the charity and were given two more by some of their followers.

Joel said the hardest part of the journey was that second day, when they tackled hills just before reaching Knottingley in West Yorkshire.

"The hills up there are so steep. They go on gradually forever. We were climbing up them for about five hours straight," he aid.

But it had also been "really good fun".

"We're getting stopped by people who don't even know who we are because it looks so bizarre," he said.

News imageJoel Redhead Two men clenching their fists as they crouch next to a sign at the side of a road that reads "Welcome to the East Riding of Yorkshire". One man is wearing a white cap backwards, a grey coat and a beige backpack. The other man is wearing a black vest, a backpack and grey shorts.Joel Redhead
Joel and Shane will finish their 157-mile journey in Hull

Shane, known as Thecolesofficial on TikTok, said: "It's quite good as one day one of us will feel quite bad and the other one will pick us up.

"The second day was by far the hardest thing I've ever done.

"It's quite funny and wholesome as well, as a lot of people will bring us food and drinks out."

The pair, who are due to finish their adventure at 18:00 BST at The Tap House on Humber Street, Hull, have raised more than £50,000 so far.

Last year, they raised £115,000 for Chasing Rainbows when they walked 140 miles from Coventry to Wales before climbing Snowdon.

Talking about baby loss, Joel said: "Before this happened to my sister, me and Shane were so naive to how often this happens.

"It's about giving people a voice and the confidence to speak about their situation."

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