HANDLEBARS

Comic duo swap jokes for spokes to warn of pub closures epidemic

- GRAHAM HISCOTT

TWO comedians cycled into a pub...

Comic double-act Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland are pedalling more than 1,000 miles on a tandem to highlight the crisis facing our locals.

The pair, both drinks presenters on ITV's This Morning, will cycle from Land's End to John o' Groats, stopping only in hostelries along the route where they will eat, drink and sleep.

Tom and Ben, who perform as the Thinking Drinkers, are alcohol industry experts who write rival newspaper columns on the subject.

Their tandem has been borrowed from a man they met down their local.

Tom explained how they were spurred into action by a seemingly relentless wave of pub closures.

He said: "If we don't use pubs, we'll lose them. So that's what we're doing - by relying entirely on lovely 'locals' during our nationwide ride.