TREASURED memories of a beloved wife and mother inspired a North-East man to set out on an exhilarating motorbike adventure across the UK.

Jeff Bennison, from Leyburn, will get on his bike for a gruelling cycle from Land's End to John o' Groats.

Mr Bennison will take on the 874-mile challenge in honour of his much-loved wife, Lorraine, who recently died after battling breast cancer for two years.

He first came up with the idea when his wife received her devastating diagnosis but put it on the back burner to allow Mrs Bennison to make the most of the time she had left with her family.

Despite her battle with cancer, Mr Bennison said his wife did her best to grab life and enjoy it, leaving her husband and two daughters with fond memories of outings shared before her cancer treatment became a priority..

He is now hoping that his bike ride will raise as much money as possible in aid of the High Dependency Unit and Intensive Care Unit at Middlesbrough's James Cook University, where Mrs Bennison was treated.

Mr Bennison will set out on his lengthy journey from the hospital and will cycle to John o' Groates before returning via Edinburgh to the hospital and biking onwards to Leyburn and Bristol before ending up at Lands' End.

Dubbed the MEEM, the route has been designed to allow people to travel from "the middle to the end, and then the end to the middle."

Mr Bennison intends the funds raised through the journey to provide improved bedside lighting in the ICU, something he says he and his wife would have appreciated during their time in hospital.

The money raised will also be donated to help the hospital invest in equipment that assists in locating veins in hands and arms, to allow medics to take blood or insert a cannula with ease.

Mr Bennison said such procedures had proved difficult for his wife to endure, adding: "I think it would be a nice legacy to hopefully be able to pay for these things and hope they will benefit other patients and their families in future.

"My two daughters are supporting me in doing this and they obviously want to raise money for these departments just as much as I do."

Mr Bennison will set off on his gruelling ride on Saturday, August 19 from the James Cook University Hospital's south entrance at 8am. He hopes to have completed his journey by the following Monday.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/bennisonfamily