A TEAM of hospital doctors will tackle a gruelling one-day coast-to-coast ride to fund much-needed research into a rare medical condition.

Simon Ashwell, a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, lost his son, David, to a very rare congenital condition known as alveolar capillary dysplasis(ACD) in March.

David became seriously ill 48 hours after he was born and died at only 15 days old from ACD, for which there is no treatment.

It involves abnormal development of the capillary vascular system around the alveoli of the lungs, and while babies with ACD may appear normal at birth, within minutes or hours they develop incurable respiratory distress.

Next month, Mr Ashwell, along with hospital colleagues John Main, a consultant in renal medicine, Richard Cree, a consultant in intensive care, Andrew Heath, a clinical perfusion scientist, Mike Foley, a consultant cardiothoracic anaesthetist, and cardiothoracic surgeon Simon Kendall and his son, Thomas, will cycle from Morecambe, Lancashire, to Whitby, North Yorkshire. Their 125-mile coast-to-coast ride will raise money for the ACD Research Fund at the National Organisation for Rare Disorders (NORD) to fund the next ACD research grant to support research into this rare and fatal disease.

The funds in NORD have been predominantly raised by the parents of ACD infants worldwide who are all members of the ACDA, The Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia Association.

ACDA is a group of parents throughout the world who have experienced the tragedy of the death of a baby due to the condition. Its purpose is to gather and share information, provide a supportive environment to families and encourage research related to ACD.

Dr Ashwell said: “This is a devastating and fatal illness which my wife and I sadly experienced in March when our baby died at two weeks old.

"It’s very rare – there are a lot of unanswered questions even to the extent where we don’t know to what extent the disease is inherited or sporadic – so the money raised will go towards medical research.

“We’ve been in contact with parents across the world whose children have died from this, and much more needs to be done to find out why.”

The cyclists will get on their bikes on the weekend of September 10 and 11 and the ride is expected to take between eight and nine hours. To donate, go to http://uk. virgin moneygiving.com/ onedayC2C