A WEST Moors woman is cycling 300 miles in the hope of raising more than £2,500 for a children’s charity.

Sue Dodd, 55, who works for Dorset Police’s major crime team, is taking on the Cycle Madagas-car event in May this year in memory of her husband, John, who died in the same month last year.

She and her partner ran a charity together called Tender Loving Care for 15 years, which benefitted children in need of life-saving operations.

To boost fundraising, Sue is holding a sold-out charity ball on Friday, February 20, at the Hallmark Hotel.

Sue said: “About a month after my husband died, I had the radio on at work and heard about the Madagascar challenge.

“At the time, I had just wanted something to focus on so I paid the deposit and signed up to it.

“My husband and I did a lot of cycling together for pleasure anyway, so it ticked a lot of boxes for me.

“It means that I am away over the anniversary, we’re cycling which is something that I enjoyed with my husband and we are raising money for a children’s charity. We have to cycle 300 miles from May 14 to 22 and the minimum amount to raise is £2,500, so I decided that I would hold a charity ball, as we used to do that every year for our charity, Tender Loving Care.”

Gloria Hill, Wave 105’s charity manager, said: “For the participants of this challenge, it’ll undoubtedly be the trip of a lifetime.

“Thank you to all of our wonderful charity supporters that have signed-up to take part so far.

“I know they’ve already been out and about doing lots of cycling in preparation for the different terrains and microclimates.” For more information, go to Cyclemadagascar.everydayhero. com/uk/sue