A WOMAN is to cycle 240 miles across India to raise money for charity.

Victoria MacKenzie, 25, will join up to 200 women spending ten days in the country to raise funds for Women for Women.

Miss MacKenzie, from Coxhoe, County Durham, will travel to India on January 31, next year and hopes to raise at least £2,800 for the charity, which funds research into conditions affecting women and babies.

"I used to cycle many years ago. A year ago I was knocked down and broke my leg.

"I thought it would be challenge to get fit again and India is a place I've always wanted to go," she said.

"I've been training for about four months now, and I'm up to cycling about 50 miles a day.

"I'm really looking forward to going."

To help raise funds for the charity, Coxhoe Workingmen's Club is staging the Janie MacKenzie Show, on Thursday.

Tickets are £4 and are available from the club or at the door.

To sponsor Miss MacKenzie, send a cheque, made out to Institute Trust Fund, to Linden House, Coxhoe, County Durham, DH6 4DX.