BUDE man Kevin Hogarth is gearing up to cycle from Manchester to Bude in aid of two charities — 'Friends of Bude Sea Pool' and 'The Message Trust'.

Kevin, 57, lives in Bude with his wife and three children, working for Cornwall Council in their short break service, caring for autistic children, as well as operating a small charity that offers surfing opportunities for disabled youth in Cornwall called the Bude Surf Outreach Group.

Though many people around the Bude area especially will be aware of the Bude Sea Pool and the funds needed to maintain the service, not many will have heard of the 'The Message Trust'.

Kevin explained that he wanted to pick a charity for both the Bude area and one that was linked to Manchester due to the route of the challenge.

He said: "The two charities I'm supporting are Friends of Bude Sea Pool at this end, who I'm sure we all know and continually need funds to maintain and improve our classic sea pool, keeping it safe and life guard patrolled for us and visitors alike.

"The other charity is The Message who I have supported for many years. They're a Christian organisation that started in Manchester over 25 years ago and are now spreading across the UK and abroad.

"They aim to improve the lives of young people by providing support in local communities, in schools through music, arts and drama, and in prisons where they have a massive programme with ex-offenders. They are now even running the Message Enterprise Centre that offers apprenticeship training to young people leaving prison."

It has to be said that Kevin is not shy of a challenge especially for a good cause. He has run two marathons for the British Heart Foundation, as well as the Bude Shoreline Triathlon twice for Bude Methodist Youth Project and Edukid — who he also completed the three peaks challenge for.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.