Man celebrates 90th birthday with charity bike ride

Tony Newton has done solo bike rides for the last 15 years

An "inspirational" great-grandfather is celebrating his 90th birthday with a 460-mile (740km) bike ride for a charity which helps young people in his home town.

Tony Newton is riding from Chorley, Lancashire, to the west coast of Scotland, taking in the Isle of Skye before ending at Kyle of Lochalsh.

He started his "Skye Or Bust" trek on Monday to raise money for Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley, and is hoping to finish by 28 June.

The nonagenarian's granddaughter Hannah Wotherspoon, who joined him along with other members of the family for part of his ride, said he proves "age truly is not a barrier to keeping fit".

Tony Newton proves age is no barrier to fitness, says his granddaughter

Mr Newton, who has already surpassed his fundraising target of £7,500, has been an avid cyclist since riding to school at the age of five.

In the last 15 years, he said he had done solo treks covering hundreds of miles every year, including a 348 mile (560km) ride to Inverness in 2023.

"I've never stopped doing something physical," he said. "You can do a lot of things that you wouldn't think you'd be able to do, whatever age it is."

Ms Wotherspoon said: "He's just so inspirational for me and I think it's just great to get the word out there that you can still do these things at 90.

"There's no age limit - you can still crack on and cycle and be really healthy."

Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley is a purpose built "safe, welcoming and warm" space for young people offering activities and support.

The charity said fundraisers like Mr Newton's trek are vital to the charity after a big increase in demand for its services.

"Our operating costs are £1.6m a year," it said."We would not be able to operate without people like Tony doing something so amazing like this."

Mr Newton said he has no intention of slowing down when he completes his latest cycling challenge and said he is determined to "just carry on".

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