So when parks officer Gareth Thomas took his holidays he thought it would be nice to venture a little further than the city's boundaries.

Sixteen days later, the 29-year-old had travelled through 15 countries and covered 6,000 miles en route from his home in Yeadon to Turkey and back to raise money for charity.

His journey began on August 1 and ended at his home on Whack House Lane, Yeadon, on Sunday.

It took him to the far fringes of the continent through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria.

The trip has raised nearly £1,000 for Riders for Health, an international charity which provides health-care to rural African villages using motorcycles.

The 20-year-old project has been successful in reducing AIDS and other deadly illnesses by getting much-needed medicine to patients in places which have virtually no road links.

Gareth works as a Leeds City Council Parkswatch officer, travelling round on an off-road motorbike fitted with CCTV. His main duties are to deter crime and anti-social behaviour.

His skills came in handy during the trip as his biggest fear during his adventure was being stranded through his beloved 1,000cc Ducati Multistrider being stolen.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I was on a budget all the way through the journey, so it wasn't as if I was able to stop in the best hotels.

"It was a question of doing my miles for the day and stopping at the nearest town and asking the locals where I could find somewhere to stop.
"I spent a few nights just sleeping on sofas. It was always a worry that I would get up in the morning and find the bike gone, but everyone who looked after me was very trustworthy."

He managed to complete the journey with just a handful of old maps, plotting his route as he went along and riding for around nine hours a day.

Gareth added: "I got lost travelling through Bulgaria a few times, but the most scary part of the trip was in Albania when it turned out that the a 70km stretch of road marked on the map had been completely ripped up.

"I had to stand up and keep going across rough terrain and was terrified that I could get a puncture any moment.

"It's great to be home safe and sound and I can't thank my girlfriend, Alexandra, and friends and family enough for the support they have given me."

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