Coronavirus: Siblings' cycle challenge for 'hero' keyworker dad

Mr Geraghty's four children will take it in turns to cycle 44.4 miles every day on an exercise bike

Four siblings are cycling more than 200 miles in a charity challenge to match their "hero" keyworker father's daily journey.

Delivery driver Anthony Geraghty covers an average of 222 miles every day taking medication to hospitals and GP practices in the West and south Wales.

His children aim to match his daily journey on exercise bikes in aid of the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal.

The appeal is the official charity of the Bristol Children's Hospital.

Mr Geraghty's four children - Lauren, 16, Charlotte, 14, Jack, 11, and Harry, nine - will take it in turns to cycle 44.4 miles every day on an exercise bike at their home in Knowle, Bristol, so that by 2 May they will have matched their father's average daily trip, while raising cash through a Just Giving page.

Charlotte has been raising funds for the Grand Appeal since she was five.

In 2018, to mark her 13th birthday, she came up with several challenges linked to her age, including sitting in 13,000 seats at Bristol City's Ashton Gate stadium and climbing to the top of the city's 215ft-tall Wills Memorial Building in 13 minutes.

'Our hero'

She said: "We just want to show our Dad how special he is to us and that he's our hero.

"We know how hard he works every day delivering medicine to places like Salisbury and the surrounding areas before reloading and driving over the Severn Bridge to make more deliveries in Wales."

Mr Geraghty said: "I was very proud of them when they told me what they intended to do.

"I think it's fabulous that they're thinking of key workers such as myself and colleagues who are doing this job at the moment."

The Grand Appeal, which provides accommodation for families wanting to stay near sick children under its Cots for Tots scheme, has launched an emergency appeal since the coronavirus pandemic started.

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