A TEAM of charity cyclists travelling from John O’Groats to Lands End were confronted with disaster just 15 minutes after setting off on their journey.
Ollie Marriage, part of the Newbury ‘Cycle4charity’ team, lost control of his bike due to appallingly wet weather while travelling downhill, causing him to skid across the road at 30mph and collide with a 4x4.
Luckily Mr Marriage managed to walk away with no broken bones, but suffered severe grazing, bruising and an injured foot.
The rest of the team - Tom Marriage, Georgie Hall and James Hall - decided to carry on without Ollie, who hopes to join them a couple of days down the road.
Ollie Marriage said: "I am absolutely gutted this has happened. We have trained so hard and this means so much to all of us.
"I hope to rejoin the rest of the team in a couple of days further along the route."
The team are attempting to raise at least £10,000 for the Meningitis Research Foundation, motivated by their personal experiences.
James Hall lost his mother Mary, aged 57, in 2005 to viral encephalitis, which is believed to have been triggered by viral meningitis.
Tom Marriage's son Nicholas was diagnosed with meningitis when only 17 days old in September 2006. After spending over three weeks in a high dependency unit Nicholas recovered, however it is uncertain how his long-term development may be affected.

You can find out more about the team's journey or make a donation via their website www.cycle4charity.com