Cyclists offer a gift for three charities

Tom Jones, Hannah Foxton and Mark Raper, on their cycle ride from St Pauls Cathedral to Bolton for Rosemere

Following support from Rosemere Cancer Centre, Anne Shaw, a former midwife at Royal Preston Hospital, has now been given the all-clear after being diagnosed with lymphoma last December.

Her grandson, Tom Jones, was so grateful for the care she received, he has cycled from St Paul’s Cathedral to his home in Bolton in aid of the centre.

Upon hearing the 23-year-old’s challenge, his girlfriend Hannah Foxton, 23, and friend Mark Raper, 24, joined him, raising funds for Gary’s Gift (The Fiji Project) and Macmillan.

Tom, who is now a management consultant in London, said: “All of this began when my grandmother, Anne Shaw, 75, of Grimsargh, was diagnosed with lymphoma in December 2015 and began her treatment at Rosemere.

“They looked after her really well and I wanted to do something to raise some funds for the centre.

“Having run half marathons before for charity, friends, family and colleagues had donated to me numerous times, so I knew to raise the serious cash I had to do something out of the ordinary.

“As I now live in London, cycling back home struck me as the way to do it.

“When I told Hannah, my girlfriend, of the plan she immediately wanted in. Hannah lost a close friend of hers, Gary Hedley, in late 2015 in a car accident. They met when they volunteered together in Fiji in the summer of 2014, coaching sport and teaching children. Gary always wanted to return there and so in his memory funds raised will provide sports equipment to the village children of Nabudrau.

“Finally, my friend Mark got involved. He works for and is passionate about the work Macmillan do and so is raising on their behalf.

“Up until March of this year, both Hannah and I had never really been interested in road cycling, so we have trained hard for this. Mark is a bit more experienced than me and has actually completed London to Paris.

“We are striving to raise £3000, and so far have hit about £2,300 - hopefully we will push closer to the line.”

To make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Londontobolton.