Matthew Goodall, 15, completed a 140-mile coast-to-coast bike ride in just one day to raise money for Pump It. The charity supports people with type one diabetes who use insulin pumps to manage their condition.

Matthew and ten companions, most of them PE staff Wetherby Young Offenders' Institute, set off from Morecambe at 6.30am.

To give the team a boost half way through the journey, St Aidan's High School, where Matthew is a pupil, had put on lunch for them and arranged for a band to play as they arrived at the gates.

Encouraged by his classmates, Matthew set off again and the riders reached Bridlington by 8pm.

Impressed

His mum Lorraine said: "I was a bit worried about the length of the journey and traffic."

She added: "His sugars were well controlled throughout the ride. The PE staff were so impressed with how well he had done."

The staff from the young offenders' institute decided to support the charity after Matthew's dad David, who also works there, told them about it.

David and a friend drove support vehicles for the ride, dealing with punctures and providing drinks and bacon sandwiches along the way. Mrs Goodall and some of the Pump It committee joined the group at St Aidan's for the second half of the journey.

She said: "He is looking forward to doing more rides. At first, he thought he would never get back on a bike the next morning!"

His sister Kelly, who turned 18 last week, was one of the first children in the area to use an insulin pump aged 10.

The ride had raised about £800 and the PE staff hope to raise more through the Knaresborough Bed Race as well as the three peaks challenge in 24 hours later in the year.

To find out more about Pump It, contact diabetic resources at Harrogate District Hospital.