Bomb victim's family lead charity bike ride

Megan Hurley was one of 22 people killed in the suicide bombing in 2017

The parents of Megan Hurley, who died in the Manchester Arena bombing, have said losing her "remains an unbearable pain", as they join a bike ride between two cities in her memory.

Some 100 people will take part in the memorial ride between Manchester and Liverpool later.

Megan, 15, from Liverpool, was one of 22 people killed in the May 2017 blast, while her brother Bradley was badly injured.

The annual charity bike ride, which begins at the Manchester Arena memorial, sees riders raising funds for the foundation set up in Megan's name.

'Compassion and selflessness'

The Megan Hurley Foundation was created by her family to provide bereavement grants to help support self-employed families who suffer the sudden loss of a child.

Megan's parents Mike and Joanne Hurley, who ran a café at the time of the bombing, told the BBC: "We were both self-employed and had been running our established business for a decade.

“The loss of Megan in such horrific circumstances remains an unbearable pain for us.

"Our son Bradley was critically injured - requiring us to spend five weeks by his bedside in Manchester Royal Infirmary, aiding in his recovery."

They said they met other families whose employers had encouraged them to take time off without worrying, but as self-employed individuals they said: "The closure of our business left us with no income, compounding our worries."

The bike ride starts near the Manchester Arena memorial

The Hurleys said that, through understanding first-hand the lack of support faced by self-employed families during times of crisis, they “resolved to create the Megan Hurley Foundation in memory of our beautiful daughter, Megan, encompassing her values of compassion and selflessness".

Since then, the foundation has assisted over 30 families in the north-west of England and collaborated with the Snowdrop Team at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, which has helped identify self-employed families in need of support.

The bereavement grants provided by the foundation aim to ease the weight of ongoing expenses, granting families the necessary space to grieve without added financial concerns.