Man's epic cycle ride after wife dies from sepsis

Anne and Ben on the day of their wedding

The husband of a woman who died from septic shock is to cycle the length of Britain in her memory.

Anne Channevy Walsh, from Banstead in Surrey, died in September last year having recently undergone surgery.

Anne's husband, Ben Channevy Walsh, her brother-in-law, and a group of friends will set off from Lands End on Saturday and hope to reach John O'Groats on 6 July.

The team has already raised more than £27,000, which will be donated to the UK Sepsis Trust and Versus Arthritis.

Sepsis is when a person's immune system "overreacts" to an infection and starts to damage the body's own tissues and organs, according to the NHS.

It affects roughly 245,000 people in the UK each year and leads to 48,000 deaths.

The team have been getting plenty of practice in preparation for the challenge

Ben, Anne's husband, says: "To do this in Anne's honour, to remember her, doing something positive in such a terrible situation and to raise money for charities she either worked for or which raises awareness of the condition that took her life, I feel Anne would be proud of us and something she would have done if the roles were reversed."

Help prevent tragedy

Anne's sister, Veronique Channevy, said she was unaware of what sepsis was before her sister died from the condition.

"It's hard to believe that five people die in the UK every hour from the illness yet there is so little awareness," she said.

"With this in mind, we wanted to do something to raise awareness so that the same tragedy could be prevented for other families."

The NHS states that adults experiencing the following symptoms should call 999 or go to A&E:

• acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense

• blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue. These symptoms may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet on people with brown or black skin

• a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it

• difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast