Dad takes on gruelling 30-hour charity cycle

Phil Payne, 31, has made a remarkable recovery after being involved in what has been described as a ‘near-fatal’ accident last year which left him with a fractured pelvis and broken wrist.

The father-of-one will swap pounding the streets of Ardingly for the pedal power challenge on Sunday, April 30, at The Dolphin leisure centre in Haywards Heath by taking to a static bike for 30 hours to raise funds for the NSPCC.

He said: “I love a challenge no matter what it is and wanted to continue fundraising for the NSPCC and the great work it does.

“The biggest hurdle will be cycling through the night, so I’ll be counting on friends and family to help me push through.”

Mr Payne, who is a post master by day, is no stranger to endurance events having previously taken part in the Marathon des Sables in 2015 – a six day, 156-mile challenge across the Sahara desert in northern Africa, with day time temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees centigrade.

He has also previously taken on a handful of marathons and Iron Man events for the children’s charity, raising a total of £14,000 so far.

As part of the gruelling training, the ultra-runner will take part in the Brighton Marathon on Sunday, April 9, to raise extra funds for the NSPCC, as well as trialling suitable foods to consume on a static bike to keep him going during the 30-hour charity cycle, which will kick off at 7am at the leisure centre in Pasture Hill Road.

NSPCC community fundraising manager Moira Mitchell said: “Despite going through a difficult time following the road accident, Phil has remained determined to push ahead with this new challenge.

“The dedication he has shown to raising both awareness and funds for the NSPCC is something that we value greatly here.”

The NSPCC is the leading children’s charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK and Channel Islands.

Using voluntary donations, which make up more than 90 per cent of funding, the charity helps children who have been abused to rebuild their lives, protect children at risk, and find the best ways of preventing child abuse from ever happening.

Do you have a story to tell? Email:[email protected]

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage

2) Like our Facebook page

3) Follow us on Twitter

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

Always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.