A cancer victim left his hospital bed hours after emergency treatment because he was determined to start a gruelling 1,000-mile fundraising trip.

Les Niewiara, 48, who suffers from pancreatic cancer, had been planning for six months to lead a team of cyclists to Poland. But on the day he was due to set off to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK, he was taken to hospital with a haemorrhage.

Doctors at Hammersmith Hospital gave him two emergency blood transfusions - and hours later he was back on his bike to start the race. Mr Niewiara is today recovering from the trip after arriving back in England. He completed the epic journey while taking morphine to numb the pain, and raised £30,000.

The project manager from Harrow said: "I wanted to highlight that even though you have bad days, you have good days, too, and you have to make use of them by doing something positive. Of the 7,000 people diagnosed at the same time as me, only 200 are left. I am very proud I achieved the ride - as a survivor I had to do something.

"There are not enough of us survivors around to make a big noise about these problems."

• 

  Lenny Henry: 'Maybe one day we can have a black Doctor Who'

  As he wins the outstanding newcomer prize at the Evening Standard theatre awards for his role as Othello, Lenny Henry has come a long way from black and white minstrels

  ---

• 

  Spread of the Jedhead

  Jedward, voted off the X-Factor this weekend, are the most obvious proponents of the sticky-uppy look - but the style crosses boundaries of age, gender, sexuality and taste, says Nick Curtis

  ---

Sky in plot to hire students on the cheap

Sky News is currently recruiting students as reporters for its coverage of next year's general election. However, the opportunity doesn't quite seem so appealing

All stories