NOTTINGHAM MEN HELP RAISE £53,000 FOR CHARITY BY CYCLING 1,000 MILES IN 10 DAYS (from Nottingham Evening Post)

Thousands of lives could be saved thanks to two Nottingham men who have helped raise £53,000 for The Meningitis Trust by cycling 1,000 miles in 10 days.

James Parsons, age 27 and W. Bro. Simon Morris, P Pr Pursuivant, age 42, Secretary of Thoresby Lodge 3106, successfully completed the gruelling trip from John O’Groats to Land’s End along with 12 colleagues from Mansfield based Rainbow International.

And months of training and fund raising was brought to a successful conclusion when a cheque was presented by Rainbow International Managing Director Phil Else to The Meningitis Trust.

Mr Else said: ”This is a fantastic achievement by the riders and the fundraisers. We set out to raise £50,000 and we have beaten that target. I congratulate everyone involved and I am delighted that such a substantial amount of money will now go towards such a worthy cause.”

James, from Rainworth is an auditor for disaster restoration company Rainbow International and Simon who lives in Newthorpe runs Nottingham based GTA Electrics – a supplier to Rainbow.

Rainbow International specialises in restoring homes and businesses following fire, flood or accidental damage as well as providing a domestic and commercial carpet and upholstery cleaning service.

James said: “All the riders were so proud of their achievements in completing this ride in very tough conditions. When we started training some had hardly even ridden a bike before, let alone cycled 1000 miles in just 10 days.

“However, raising £53,000 exceeds the pleasure we all got from completing the ride - to raise such an amount of money to help sufferers of this awful disease is quite incredible, and something of which we are all very proud.”

The money will go to the Trust to help them support people whose lives have been devastated by meningitis, including the provision of a 24-hour nurse-led helpline which provides a life-line to anyone affected by or concerned about meningitis.

The money will also be used to raise awareness of the disease, and in particular to enable parents to recognise the symptoms in children, thereby helping to aid speedy diagnosis and a greater chance of survival.

Sue Davie, Chief Executive of The Meningitis Trust said: “Meningitis kills more children under the age of five than any other infectious disease. But it can strike anyone at any time and at any age. Recent research shows that there may be as many as 500,000 people living in the UK today who have had viral or bacterial meningitis, many of whom are coping with the impact every day of their lives. We would like to thank Rainbow International for their tremendous support.”

WELL DONE SIMON.