TWO local nurses are using pedal power to raise money for cancer charities.

Paul Gilmour from Saltcoats and Derek Pettigrew from Stevenston set off yesterday on an epic 1300km cycle ride along the Rhine with NHS Ayrshire and Arran colleagues Derek Cobb from Ayr and Brian Lennon from Mauchline.

Paul and his partner Fiona tragically lost their son Daniel Gilmour to the childhood cancer neuroblastoma last year, when he was just four years old.

During their battle with the disease they were supported by CLIC Sargent and North Ayrshire Cancer Care and these charities will benefit from the guys’ efforts along with the Neuroblastoma Society who fund research into newer, more effective and less brutal treatments for the disease.

Daniel’s family and friends want to help secure these expensive resources for others in the future. Since Daniel got sick just under £20,000 has been raised for these charities and the team are keen to continue with this.

They will travel over 10 days from the source of the Rhine in Switzerland and make their way through the Alps into Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, France, back to Germany then on up into Holland to the North Sea.

For the more dedicated and fitter of cyclist it can take around 14 days to do these miles, so for this motley crew to complete this well trodden path in 10 days whilst carrying their entire kit, tents etc, is no mean feat but a challenge worthy of the cause.

Contact or follow the guys’ on Facebook by searching for ‘oordanielscharitycycle’ page. Donations can be made directly to the charities at www.justgiving.com/teams/oordanielscharitycycle.