A MAN will ride 750 miles across China on a unicycle to raise charity funds.

World unicycle champion Roger Davies will collect money for Cancer Research in memory of his friend's mother, who recently died of breast cancer.

Mr Davies, 40, from Norton, near Stockton, will cycle an average of 35 miles a day from Nanning to Kunming, in southern China.

Mr Davies, who owns online unicycle sales business unicycle.com, will raise money for the Cancer Research UK charity in the name of his friend, Kaleigh Grainger, whose mother died.

He said: "It is likely to be pretty cold, which will make the ride more challenging. Knowing someone who has lost a loved one to cancer really brings home the impact the disease has on people's lives.

"I am aiming to raise as much money as possible."

Mr Davies, who began unicycling when he picked up a friend's bike aged 13, won the equivalent of the Tour de France in Washington in 2002.

He has beaten other unicyclists at competitions across the UK and the world.

To sponsor him, go to www.justgiving.com/unicycle acrosschina