Charity cyclists were left stranded after a train company banned them from catching a ride home.

More than 4,700 fundraisers rode through the night from London to Brighton on Saturday to raise cash for the British Heart Foundation.

But when the exhausted riders tried to catch early-morning trains back to the capital, they found Southern Rail had made a special order not to let anyone with a bicycle on board.

After riding in the dark for more than four hours, Josh Burrows tried to board a train at Lewes station at 4.30am, only to be told he would have to find another way home.

He had to leave his bike at his parents’ house in Lewes before driving back to London in the afternoon – but he said other riders were not so lucky.

He said: “I feel sorry for the cyclists who turned up at Brighton station at 6am to be told they had no way of getting back home. They were stranded all day.

“I found it incredible that Southern Rail would make a special decision to ban people who had raised thousands of pounds for charity.

“I was surprised and angry that they hadn’t made enough effort to let us know. It was completely thoughtless and deeply uncharitable.”

The first ever Brighton to London night ride set off from Clapham Common at midnight on Saturday and raised £413,000 for the British Heart Foundation’s Mending Broken Hearts Appeal.

Cyclists included heart patients, friends, families and colleagues.

A spokesman for Southern Rail said: “The British Heart Foundation makes provision for the carriage of competitors’ cycles back to London by road.

“Some competitors chose not to take advantage of this provision.

“We do not have space on our trains for these cycles so for the safety and comfort of our passengers, we introduced a ban on non-folding cycles on our trains for a day.”