A 42-year-old from Abbots Langley is gearing up to cycle from London to Newcastle in just 24 hours.

Craig Moorcroft hopes to raise £8,000 for Caudwell Children, a charity that provides disabled children with wheelchairs and powerchairs.

The father-of-two chose this charity after they supported his daughter Sian, who, at 14 months old, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in 2004. This condition means that the now 11-year-old has very limited mobility and requires a wheelchair to get round.

Mr Moorcroft will begin the trek in Finsbury Park on Saturday August 30 and will finish in the shadow of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Newcastle 24 hours later.

He said: "I only started cycling in earnest about two years ago. I’ve received tremendous support from my cycling club, Watford Velo Sport, and they’ve been helping me to train for the last year and a half.

"Currently, they’re pushing me to do about 200 miles a week. I just want the public to understand the difficulty of the challenge and sponsor my efforts. There won’t be any breaks for sleep and it will be full on for the 24 hours."

In 2006, Sian became the youngest child with Type Two SMA to have growth roads fitted to help her condition.

The father of two added: "Sian has been extremely fortunate with the support that she has received from Caudwell Children. The succession of specialist, Balder, wheelchairs that she has received has given her the mobility that she needs.

"Unfortunately, other children aren’t so lucky. So I’m appealing for people to recognise my commitment by supporting me. With the public’s help I can raise much needed funds to improve the quality of life of disabled children."

Trudi Beswick, Chief Executive of Caudwell Children said: "There are over 70,000 children in the UK who would benefit from the correct mobility equipment, whilst a staggering 200,000 disabled children in the UK are going without any specialist equipment, or adaptations, at all.

"This is simply unacceptable. By supporting Craig you can help us to address the issues around provision."

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