A BRADFORD man is getting back on his bike for a fundraising ride from Yorkshire to Germany and back.

Mark Cunningham, 51, will be one of seven riders cycling 520 miles from Huddersfield to Dortmund and back between Monday, May 1, and Saturday, May 6.

They will cycle from Huddersfield to Hull, get on board a ferry to Rotterdam and then cycle to Dortmund. They will repeat the journey back, aiming to cover around 85 miles on the bikes each day.

Mr Cunningham will be riding in memory of Andrew Bessell, of Huddersfield, who died five days after a car accident aged 28 in 2015.

Mr Cunningham, of Mount Grove, Eccleshill, is looking to raise £2,500 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA), who airlifted Mr Bessell to Leeds General Infirmary after his accident. He said he was looking forward to his biggest cycling test to date to raise funds in memory of Mr Bessell, who was the son of two of his friends.

He said: “His father Tim told me the YAA gave Andrew a fighting chance with their quick response and care.

“Andrew was only 28, such a tragic waste of life. I met Andrew when he was eight.

“Nothing can bring him back, but we will always remember him and keep his memory alive. I wanted to dedicate this ride to Andrew. He was very popular and loved by many.

“It is my biggest test that I have ever done on the bike. It’s going to be challenging but I’m looking forward to it. To raise £2,500 would be absolutely fabulous.”

The seven will be joined on the ride by another group of Huddersfield Town fans who will meet up with them in Dortmund to cycle the return leg of the journey.

They will ride from Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion football stadium to Huddersfield to raise funds for the Keep It Up campaign, which raises funds for the YAA and the Huddersfield Town Academy.

It will be Mr Cunningham’s latest fundraising bike ride after he has raised £13,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Alzheimer’s Society over the last two years.

In both tests he led a group of ten riders who cycled 150 miles from Bradford to Morecambe and back.

He has completed his last two challenges in memory of his parents, Jack and Beryl Cunningham.

His father died in 2009, after losing his battle with stomach cancer.

His mother died in 2012, suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.

Go to justgiving.com/mark-cunningham18 to make a donation.

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