A NORTHWICH couple will be getting on their bikes next month and hoping that by clocking up hundreds of miles on the road they can raise hundreds of pounds for charity.

Helen and Simon Cartwright will be taking part in a 24-hour sponsored cycle between London and Paris on Saturday, August 10, travelling 280 miles in aid of Bliss, the UK’s special care baby charity.

Bliss provides vital support and free advice to families of babies born prematurely and poorly.

The fundraising couple were inspired to complete the cycling challenge for the charity after their nephew Jack Jonathan Nowell was born at just 29 weeks.

Jack weighed 2lb 14oz when he arrived 11 weeks early on September 20 last year and after spending 11 weeks in hospital he was finally able to go home.

The tiny tot is now a thriving and active baby and Helen and Simon wanted to show their appreciation for the staff at the neonatal intensive care unit at St James Hospital in Leeds and Bliss.

Helen said: “The dedication and passion of the hospital is the principle reason behind Jack’s progression from a critical condition and a lengthy period of 11 weeks in intensive care, to the bouncing baby that he is now.

“Such efforts are replicated by the hospital staff day in and day out.

“Jack was one of many precious and fragile lives that have now been made whole thanks to the devotion of the nursing staff and the on-going support of charities like Bliss.”

She added: “The pain we will endure on our cycle will be little in comparison to that experienced by the families of premature babies.

“The elation when we arrive in Paris will be significant to that which manifests in our family, and others like us, when we now look at Jack.”

As well as being sponsored for their cycle, Helen and Simon have also entered the Mountain Warehouse Outdoor Challenge, where they could win £5,000 for Bliss courtesy of a public vote.

More information about the vote is available at hmountainwarehouse.com and sponsorship information can be found at justgiving.com