Newbury firefighter in cycle ride to France in memory of mum

Iain Whatley, who has worked at Newbury fire station for seven years, will be cycling 450 miles from Wantage, Oxfordshire, to Gouex in France.
The 31-year-old will be joined by his brother, Gareth, aged 33, and friends Steve Barclay, David Richardson, James Pulling and Iain Powis, all aged 31.
Mr Whatley will also be joined by a number of colleagues from Newbury fire station during the first leg of his journey from Wantage to Portsmouth, Hampshire.
The father-of-two is aiming to raise £15,000 for Cancer Research in memory of his mother, Joy, who died of ovarian cancer aged 55 in December last year.
“These sort of things always happen to other people but never to you. Then suddenly it was happening to my family,” Mr Whatley said.
“I wanted something positive to come out of an awful situation, so I decided to fundraise. Cancer Research was the obvious choice.”
Mr Whatley, who lives in Wantage, starts his cycle ride on September 23 and is expecting to reach Gouex, where his father lives, in six days.
“We’ve been training as a group when we can, but I’ve also been cycling to work. It used to take me about an hour and forty minutes, but now it only takes me an hour and twenty minutes.
“When we get to Gouex we’re going to have a celebratory party,” Mr Whatley added.
To sponsor Mr Whatley and his friends, visit www.justgiving.com/thejoyride