Doncaster hero Ben Parkinson nears end of 1,000 mile charity bike ride

The badly-injured Afghanistan veteran is heading towards Bridgwater in Somerset today – about 160 miles short of the group's final destination at the tip of Cornwall.

L/Bombardier Ben, who suffered brain damage and lost both legs in a blast in Afghanistan, set off on the marathon trek with nine other amputee veterans as well as firefighters last week.

The team is raising funds for Pilgrim Bandits, a charity that helps injured soldiers and awareness about Motor Neurone Disease (MND)

Ben, 36, is taking on the challenge to help Pilgrim Bandits member, John Chart, 49, a veteran and former firefighter who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in July 2019.

"There's always someone struggling and now it's my chance to support John to get him on his way."

John said: “MND is a demonic disease. It is like an assassin; it sneaks up on you and it’s like someone’s got a remote control and it’s just closing my body down gradually. I want to raise awareness, I want to see the devastation of what it does to you, but I also want to say to people don’t ever give up. You’ve got to keep going. Don’t ever give up.”

You can follow the expedition progress via Pilgrim Bandits Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds and via John’s page Cycle Challenge for MND or on Instagram @cyclechallange4mnd.