Two bikers from Tenby who raised over £10,000 to help fight the African aids epidemic have arrived home safe and well after 2000km off road adventure with royalty.

Graham Lightwood and David Stewart-Walvin have raised £5,000 each for Enduro Africa, a charity that buys off road bikes for medics on the HIV ravaged continent.

After the challenge of raising a huge amount of money in just under a year, the pair set off to south Africa for an even bigger challenge: an eight day off road rally which took them to the heart of the remote communities which will benefit in the long term from the bikes.

Among the party of around 80 bikers were princes William and Harry, whose participation was announced by Clarence House a week before departure.

"It was arduous, demanding, tiring and absolutely brilliant," said the Tenby pair who spent up to 13 hours a day in the saddle. Both suffered from dysentery and David tore ligaments in his thumb, but they got off lightly compared to others in their party who suffered broken ribs, collar bones and punctured lungs.

They said the royal princes mucked in and got on with the ride just like everyone else: "They were very down to earth and grounded," said Graham. " They did exactly what everyone else did."

"William is more mature and Harry speaks his mind and is a great laugh," added David. "They are certainly competent motorcyclists and came through it relatively unscathed. "

Graham and David were overwhelmed by the extremes of wealth and poverty in south Africa.

"The poverty was worse than you expected," said Graham. "There were all these kids running out and greeting us. They had nothing. It was very humbling.

"There were little kids coming out carrying even smaller kids, many of them AIDS orphans. It's a terrible situation for human beings to be in but they were all smiling."

It is this kind of community that the Enduro Africa bikes will benefit directly. The £5,000 raised by each participant pays for an off road bike, as well as a year's worth of fuel, maintenance and maintenance training. The bikes have now been handed over to medical aid workers who will use them to access remote and vulnerable communities decimated by AIDS.