A KEEN cyclist has gone the extra mile for a charity challenge by pedalling along every lane in Worcestershire.

Will Basford completed the mammoth task of covering about 3,000 miles of lanes, crossing the finish line in Ham Lane, Powick, near Worcester, on Saturday.

The 46-year-old began the gruelling challenge – using the yellow routes marked on an OS Landranger map as his guide – on January 1, and gave himself a year to complete it.

Cycling after work and at weekends, Mr Basford, of Maund Street, St John’s, Worcester, sometimes travelled up to 200 miles a week, reaching Worcestershire’s borders with Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire.

And not content with cycling hundreds of miles, the Mazak employee also climbed Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, in October.

Mr Basford, who took up cycling after suffering a rugby injury, hopes his marathon efforts will raise hundreds of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

He said: “I was glad to finish it really, but I’m glad I’ve done it.

"My mother, Sheila, died of cancer so I just wanted to give something back.

“Climbing Kilimanjaro was a lot harder than I thought it would be – the last part is very steep.

"But I think the cycling was even harder than doing the climb because I really had to work at that.

“I was going out and doing every one, checking off every single point and I sometimes had to go back on myself.”

Anyone wishing to sponsor Mr Basford can do so by visiting the website justgiving.com/williambasford280519 or by texting WBAS79 £5 to 70070.