A REMARKABLE charity adventure is in the offing as two men on a bike set out to ride nearly 1,000 miles, with a £100,000 "prize" as their final goal.

That's the staggering amount Ken Wood from Pocklington and Mike Hainsworth from Haxby, York, are planning to raise for the Leukaemia Research Fund by riding a tandem 952 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Their efforts were inspired by brave Molly-Ann Barnett, the six-year-old leukaemia sufferer whose plight led to a national appeal for a donor so she could have a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

That campaign was co-ordinated from Pocklington firm VMS, which is part-owned by Molly-Ann's father Paul, and where Ken is marketing manager and Mike works as software support manager.

A matching donor has now been found for Molly-Ann, who is scheduled to have a transplant next month.

The two men's efforts are focused on helping others who fall victim to the devastating illness, and they have the backing of sporting legend Ian Botham.

He urged people to dig deep into their pockets, adding that although he had hung up his walking boots having done the same route twice he wouldn't give up fundraising until there was a total cure for leukaemia.

Mike, who is 43 and lives in Garths End, is a runner and sometimes cycles to work from Haxby.

But Ken, 47 from Algarth Road, said he wasn't either a runner or cyclist, adding: "Most people think I'm bonkers, but Mike is a good lad and he'll keep me going."

He said Molly-Ann's plight spurred him to take up the challenge. "When it's somebody close to home and you get involved in a campaign like this, it grabs hold of you," he said.

They have already banked £20,000 for their ride, which starts on September 27. Their main sponsors are Swift Motor Homes of Hull, who have provided a £42,000 motor home as a back-up vehicle, and tandemania.com who provided the tandem, which will be auctioned at the end of the ride with half the cash going to the fund.

They are planning collections in Pocklington on September 19, 23 and 26.

An account has been set up with the Halifax Bank for payments anywhere in the country. Cheques should be made payable to the Molly-Ann Appeal, and the account number is D/99624654-10. Alternatively they can be sent to: Molly-Ann Sponsored Cycle Ride, c/o Viking Management Systems Ltd, Blenheim Road, Pocklington Industrial Estate, York, YO42 1NR.

PICTURE: Mike Hainsworth, left, and Ken Wood who have been inspired by six-year-old leukaemia sufferer Molly-Ann Barnett, to ride from Lands End to John O'Groats by tandem in aid of Leukaemia Research

Picture: Garry Atkinson