Man cycles 105 miles for charity after two strokes

Nigel Farr, who has suffered two strokes, has a pacemaker, osteoarthritis and only one kidney, said he has "still got the will" to take on the 105-mile challenge

A man who has suffered two strokes and has a pacemaker, osteoarthritis and one kidney, cycled from London to his home in Wiltshire to raise money for hospice care.

Nigel Farr, 62, undertook the gruelling 105-mile cycle challenge from Hyde Park to Kington Saint Michael over the weekend.

He has raised more than £8,000 for Dorothy House Hospice Care in memory of his sister Kathryn Pidgeon, who died in March.

He said: "It was brilliant. There were a load of people at Kington Saint Michael who clapped me into the village. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing."

Mr Farr, along with his friend Warren Burgess took the train to London on Saturday to begin the cycling challenge of his life.

Despite the Unite the Kingdom protest, which saw up to 150,000 people march through central London, Mr Farr said the six-hour ride to Newbury that day was "brilliant".

"London was the worst thing. A lot of roads were closed, lots of traffic clogged up everywhere, just stopped," he said.

"We could have got out of London much quicker."

On Sunday, with the Met Office having issued a yellow wind warning, he was joined by two more friends to tackle the seven-hour ride back to his village.

"Cycling in the pouring rain it was awful, it was terrible. All of us got absolutely soaked," he said.

"And there were quite a lot of hills. Some I managed to get to the top of but some I had to walk up or stop and have a breath."

Mr Farr, pictured with his friend Warren Burgess, has raised more than £8,000 for Dorothy House Hospice Care

Mr Farr who has osteoarthritis in his knees, a pacemaker and only one kidney, said he suffers from "terrible pain" all down one side but has "still got the will to do it."

"Back in 2002 I had meningitis - that's what nearly killed me. It took me eight months to get over that one," he said.

"And I've had two strokes. I had one just after Easter last year and I had another just before Christmas - so it's been a bit of a nightmare."

He said arriving back in the village he has lived in all his life and being applauded by the locals was the highlight.

"It was absolutely fantastic. I've never learnt to drive because all my work was local so most days I go out on the bike," he said.

"My right knee is killing me and my thighs feel terrible but it was a fantastic achievement."