A GROUP of cyclists have raised more than £5,000 to support a hospital which provided care for one of the member's mums.

In a bid to show gratitude to Dene Barton Hospital, in Cotford St Luke, Jon Mitchell set about the charity endeavour with three friends after his mum was cared for at the hospital.

After it was discovered Rachel Mitchell had a life-threatening bleed on the brain in June 2017, she went through surgery at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, before being transferred to the specialist neuro rehabilitation centre at Dene Barton.

In August, Jon and three friends, Phil Haddleton, Robbie Hynes and Theo Gayton, who all live in London, took on the challenge to cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats to raise money for the hospital, before presenting the cheque in January this year.

Somerset County Gazette:

SUPPORT: The team with Rachel Mitchell, Jon's mum 

Mr Mitchell, who grew up in Haselbury Plucknett, a small south Somerset village, said: "The road to stabilising her medical condition was not without its ups and downs, very much like hilly sections of the cycle route from Land’s End to John o’Groats.

"After showing us all her true fighting spirit and becoming medically stable, my mum was transferred to Dene Barton, where arguably her biggest personal challenge awaited her.

"Many parts of mum’s brain had been severely damaged as a result of the life-threatening stroke. This meant that the day she entered Dene Barton, she could not feed herself, could not move her legs so could not walk or stand and her speech was extremely limited.

"After many hard months of physio, speech and occupational therapy sessions, mum began to show signs of slight improvement.

"This was a result of the sheer dedication shown by the staff at Dene Barton, their hard work and professionalism, as well as my mum’s grit and determination to retrain her brain and body."

Eventually, after months of hard work with the help of the hospital staff, Rachel was able to walk on her own again, and was allowed to return to her home in Lyme Regis in February 2018.

In total, £5,480.60 was raised for the hospital in the hopes of improving the equipment for existing and future patients.

Somerset County Gazette:

PROUD: The team with the charity cheque

The team rode 1,000 miles over the span of one week, hitting 142 miles each day.

Mr Mitchell added: "From the moment I received the call in 2017, to being supportive at my wedding, while mum was still in a critical state in hospital, the whole crew has been actively cheering my mum on as she battles to recovery.

"We were riding in recognition of the team effort the staff at Dene Barton continue to make to the lives of so many patients who come through their doors.

"We want them all to be as lucky as my mum who is continuing on her road to recovery but looking forward to many happy years ahead with family and friends."