A CYCLIST is preparing for a five-day trek from London to Paris in aid of a Wirral bereavement charity.

Katy Harker is taking part in the London to Paris Cycle Challenge for the Wirral area of CRUSE bereavement support.

The 30-year-old sets off on her challenge on June 1. She will need to cover an average of more than 80 miles a day to reach the Eiffel Tower between 3 and 5pm on Sunday, June 5.

London-based Katy works for the Health Protection Agency as an epidemiologist specialising in the study of e-coli. All of her spare time is spent training.

She said: "The training is really tough and a bit scary at times with big lorries racing past, but it is going well - apart from a few aches and pains from muscles I never realised I had!

"My main problem is I can only do the long practice rides at the weekends, and on the challenge there will be little time to recover between one stage and the next."

The Wirral branch of CRUSE has a large number of well trained volunteers who work without pay helping people cope with the pain of grief which we all suffer when a family member or other significant person dies.

Katy's mother Gill works as a volunteer for CRUSE's Wirral area.

She said: "Our clients come from all walks of life and contact us through a variety of means. Some are referred from GPs, and other health professionals, others contact the local CRUSE helpline."

Dr Richard Williams, chairman of CRUSE Wirral area, said: "For the first time ever, CRUSE has received a grant from NHS Wirral to enable us to expand our service, Nonetheless, we rely heavily on donations and fund raising events to help with costs for further training and recruiting."

Katy hopes to raise £3,000, but added: "I'm happy to say I’m well on the way to achieving this target. If anyone else wishes to help me raise this money for CRUSE they can do so on my website which is http://www.doitforcharity.com/kharker" (click on website in related links section below this article).