A leading businessman is swapping the boardroom for the open road as he tries to raise £100,000 for children’s charities.

David Lench, managing director of Kent-wide independent estate agents Ward and Partners based in Faversham, is in training for a gruelling 1,000-mile bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats in September.

Mr Lench, who lives in Littlebourne near Canterbury, has already raised £27,000 for Action Medical Research, which funds research into children’s diseases and disabilities, and for CHYPS which provides hospice-at-home support for chronically-ill children.

Over the past few years, Mr Lench has tackled an impressive list of charity challenges.

These have included climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and completing the Three Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the highest mountain in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours.

This latest escapade is the most challenging yet.

He said: “It involves cycling approximately 70 miles a day for the best part of two weeks.

“But the worst part is all the hill climbing. On some days, it means climbing a total of 5,000 to 6,000 feet.

“While this is reasonably straight forward for a keen cyclist, it’s rather more of a challenge for someone like me who only took up cycling relatively recently.”

Mr Lench’s training regime includes cycling around 60 miles every weekend, plus three visits to the gym each week and culminates in July with a training ride from London to Paris.

He will be joined on the epic ride by a friend Kevin Hafner and the support vehicle will be driven by David’s wife Vivien.

To make a donation, click here