72 year-old Keith Evans, from Peasedown St John, has completed his year-long challenge of riding 15,000 miles to raise money for Dorothy House in memory of his partner.

Over the past year, he has raised £3,000, with more donations still coming in. All the money raised will be going to Dorothy House Hospice in tribute to his partner,

Caroline Morris, who passed away three years ago, and to thank them for the support and care they gave to her and the rest of Keith’s family during that difficult time.

Keith said: “After Caroline’s death, I wanted to volunteer for Dorothy House, but I was told to wait for a year or so, as this would give me time to come to terms with my loss.

“I’m now ready to give back to Dorothy House for all the care and support that was given to me during a very difficult time.

“Being a keen cyclist all my life, I decided to set myself the target of cycling 15,000 miles in the Somerset and Wiltshire area. I am a cancer survivor, having had two operations in 2005/06, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which have had unpleasant lasting effects to this day, making the challenge even more difficult.”

Keith was joined for the final 37 miles of his challenge by his friends and fellow members of the Somer Valley Cycling Club. Together they set off from Radstock, heading towards Wells and beyond until they hit their target.

Keith said: “Initially I challenged myself to do 12,000 miles, but I found that wasn’t hard enough – I cycled around 10,000 miles last year, so raised it to 15,000. It has been a bit of a struggle, particularly through the winter, but we’ve got there!”

The challenge, which started on 1st January this year, has seen Keith cycle for 243 days during the year, averaging at around 61 miles per day and climbing around 759,334 feet.

He said: “I would like to thank Bike It in Radstock for all their help and also to the staff at Costa Coffee in Wells for their support over the past year.”

To keep up-to-date with Keith, to see how his final leg went, or to donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/keith-evans7