A schoolfriend will be at the front of Andy King’s mind when he takes to the saddle to raise money for charity later this year.

The 34-year-old, from Stratton, will be cycling from London to Paris in May to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, in memory of his friend who died of the disease aged nine.

He and another keen cyclist, Tony Pound, are hoping to raise £2,500 between them.

“I have reached a certain age when I thought it would be nice to give something back and have a challenge as well,” Andy said.

When he first moved to Swindon at the age of six he became friends with a girl who suffered from cystic fibrosis when they were at Grange Infant and Junior Schools.

He said: “My parents explained to me that she had cystic fibrosis and they told me it was something she wouldn’t get better from. It didn’t really mean a lot to me.”

Cystic fibrosis is one of the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited diseases.

It causes the body to produce thick secretions that affect the lungs and digestive tract.

Andy said: “Four years later I saw the ambulance coming down our street again. When I got to school the teachers in assembly were being a bit weird.

“When everyone had settled down the headmaster announced that she had died. I remember the kids in assembly being a little quieter than normal that day.

“I have got a couple of little ones now and you become more aware that these things can happen to them.”

The dynamic duo will pedal 312 miles in five days when they cycle from London to Paris.

They also plan to take part in the Blenheim Palace Triathlon, the Great Western Sportive, and the Dorney Park Triathlon later this year.

“I’m sure we will be able to motivate each other. Neither of us would like to see the other one get ahead, we’re quite competitive so we will motivate each other along the way,” Andy said.

“I’m hopeful that it will raise awareness among my friends. It’s easy to do this type of thing if you put your mind to it.”

Andy and Tony will be at the Brunel Centre on Saturday taking part in their own cycling challenge and holding fundraising buckets.

To sponsor Andy visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Andy_King