A TEAM of adventurers has returned from a gruelling expedition, which has raised money to restore the sight of 125 Bangladeshi children.

Maurice Evlyn-Bufton organised the 7,000 mile trip, in which he and friends Nick Argles, 39, Stuart Tootal, 39, Simon Jackson, 37 and Alexandria Proud, 31 cycled, sailed and climbed their way from Stroud to Mont Blanc in France, before paragliding from the summit.

They raised over £25,000 in sponsorship for the charity Sight Savers, which helps restore vision to children in poor countries.

Mr Evlyn-Bufton said: "It's amazing to think you can make such a difference to someone's life. I would have done it for one child. "I think every team member has come away with a totally different view on their priorities in life.

"In fact, some have made some significant changes and decisions about their own lives after doing it.

"Each of us went through a period of being positive and strong but each of us had moments that really tested us."

In December, he and his friends will travel to Bangladesh to see the eye clinic they have helped, and he is already planning his next adventure - which he hopes will restore sight to 1,000 children.

"This time was a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs with a dream to do something different," he said.

"If you are going to undertake something of this significance, to make it run well you have got to run it almost like a business venture."

An on-line diary of Expedition First Light can be seen at http://www.trafalgarpartnership.co.uk/efl/diary.html