A SEVENTY-year-old cyclist battled gale-force winds and horizontal rain when he pedalled 1,000 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats on a tricycle.

But it paid off as former Worcester fireman Gordon Chamberlain raised £4,000 for charity on his mammoth 15-day journey.

The Fernhill Heath resident and member of St John's Cycling Club has now handed over two £2,000 cheques - one to St Richard's Hospice in Rose Hill, where he is a volunteer driver, and the other to the Fire Service's National Benevolent Fund.

"I'm over the moon that I completed the journey - although it did take one day longer than anticipated," Gordon told the Evening News.

"I had some bad weather south of Glasgow which set me back 37 miles one day."

He said the last day of his adventure was the highlight.

"It was hard in the morning as there was gale force wind in my face and I had to really hang on.

"But when it got behind me it was blowing me along at 30 miles an hour without me pedalling."

St Richard's community fund-raiser Alison Weston said Gordon was a great hospice volunteer.

"It was very generous of him to take up the cycle challenge and raise this cash," she said.

"It wasn't an easy journey but he cycled on and completed the 1,000 mile trip in just 15 days."

The money will go towards the remaining £1.25m needed to build a new £5.25m state-of-the-art hospice near County Hall which will combine all the current services with 15 specialist palliative care beds, which are desperately needed but not currently available in the area.