A CANCER survivor raised more than £900 for charity with a 186-mile cycle ride around a lake.

Simon James, 52, from Darlington, joined thousands of other cyclists on the non-stop ride around Lake Vattern, in Sweden, on June 17.

The Vatternrundan, as it is known, is a non-competitive overnight event through one of the most picturesque areas of Northern Europe.

Mr James managed to complete the ride in 16 hours and 55 minutes raising money for Cyclists Fighting Cancer, a charity which provides bikes, adapted tricycles and equipment to young people whose lives have been affected by cancer.

"It took me a relatively long time to get round but I wasn't going for time, I just wanted to finish, " said Mr James.

"The charity itself did really well out of the ride as all 22 of us who were riding for the organisation managed to finish.

"That in itself is quite an achievement as many people didn't. In total, I think there were more than 23,000 people taking part.

"I think I'm going to take a little break now. I still like to train, but any bike rides I go on in the near future will have to be a little tamer."

People are still able to sponsor Mr James by going to just giving.com/Simon-James4.