A HORWICH man is aiming to cycle 150 miles in 12 hours to raise money for charity.

Sam Holden will travel from the west — Seascale in Cumbria — to Whitby in the east in a coast-to-coast bike ride on May 2.

Waving him off will be his girlfriend Stephanie Smith, along with her 19-year-old sister Nicol, an English literature and film student who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis last year.

She now has to inject herself every day to control her condition and Mr Holden said he hopes to raise awareness as well as much-needed funds for the MS Society The 25-year-old, of Sefton Lane, Horwich, said: “I have done endurance challenges but nothing of this magnitude.

“It will feature three of the highest peaks in England but it will be a great day out as well.”

Mr Holden, who trains staff at the M&S store at Middlebrook, added: “Coast-to-coast was on my bucket list so when I heard about Nicol I just thought there would be no better reason to do it.”

Nicol is in her second year at Edinburgh Napier University and said she first developed symptoms last summer.

She said: “I was officially diagnosed in November last year.

“But it all started in the middle of July. My eyes would feel like they were bobbing about in my head and I was getting really bad headaches.

“Then a couple of times one half of my face would go completely numb, as if I was having a stroke. I was smiling, but literally only down one side of my face.

“I am very hopeful it will control the condition and stop it getting worse.”

Nicol added: “It’s amazing. I only met Sam last year so I can’t believe he has decided to do this for me. He does charity stuff but has other causes he supports so selecting the MS Society is purely because of my case, so I’m touched.”

To contribute to Mr Holden’s £500 fundraising target, visit justgiving.

co.uk/samholdenc2c