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Disabled hand-cyclist raises staggering £12,000 in memory of son





Suffering with incomplete paraplegia, Simon Benson, aged 44, embarked on the challenge with close friends Chris Wortt, Andy Goodwin, and Paul Homersham, all aged 45 from Newbury, and Jon Sharp, aged 44, who travelled from Sydney, Australia to show his support.
The condition has left Mr Benson predominantly wheelchair bound, causing him to undertake the 874-mile challenge on a hand-bike while his companions cycled alongside on conventional bicycles.
The trip was not without complications as Mr Benson contracted an infection just five days in, bringing on a fever which saw him bed-ridden for two days. But illness failed to defeat determination and he ploughed on to Land’s End, completing the trip on September 29, something he said was worth the pain.
“The generosity of people from north to south was just fantastic,” said Mr Benson.
“People waved us down as we were riding, others came up to us when we were on a break. We generated over £500 in cash on route.”
This is on top of their online donations, which quickly racked up to exceed their £10,000 target.
And the fundraising doesn’t stop there, with Mr Benson estimating the final total will sit closer to £16,000.
“We have still got quite a bit to go yet, there’s still some fundraising that’s ongoing,” he said.
Although ecstatic with their success, Mr Benson described it as “bittersweet.”
“[Jacob] was 12, only six months before becoming a teenager, one of his biggest dreams,” he said. “He's with me every moment of every day.
“It’s nice that we have come together to do this to remember Jacob and do our bit.”
All donations will be split equally between Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research and Kamran’s Ward at John Radcliffe hospital, Oxford, where Jacob was treated throughout the four years of his illness.
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