A 475-mile cycle trip around Lithuania lies ahead for a Malvern man who is back in the saddle after 20 years.

John Gwilliams started cycling again in August last year and is doing the ride in aid of Rugute, a charity which supports children with cancer in Lithuania, with two work colleagues.

Mr Gwilliams, who chose the charity after returning from a business trip to the country, sets off from the nation’s capital Vilnius on Sunday, May 8 before returning to the city after the mammoth loop on Saturday, May 14, completing about 85 miles each day.

He said: “I don’t know why I chose cycling, but it seemed like a good idea to get over a fear after a motorbike accident years ago.”

Mr Gwilliams, who works for Barclays Bank in Manchester, has been training on and off-road in preparation for the challenge and has shed two-and-a-half stone as a result of his new regime.

To sponsor John visit his globalgiving site at http://bit.ly/eC9UFr