A Shropshire man today set off on an epic 15,500-mile cycle ride from Shrewsbury to Australia in a bid to raise cash for brain tumour research – after his brother was diagnosed with the disease.

Henry Brydon, 25, left Kingsland, Shrewsbury, this morning and will travel through the countryside to Bridgnorth, then Kidderminster and on to Worcester, finally arriving at Tewkesburys for a stop-over.

His trip to Sydney will see him journey through 25 countries, taking up to 18 months and raising £25,000 for Brain Tumour Research.

He will be later joined by friend Jamie King, who is raising money for the MS Society, on Monday, before they leave the UK.

It was Henry’s brother Jack’s diagnosis with a brain tumour in 2003, when he was 17, which prompted Henry to set himself the challenge of cycling Down Under to raise desperately-needed funds for the charity.

The challenge is backed by ex-Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper Joe Hart – who is now on the books of Manchester City and is on loan at Birmingham City.

Surgery

Following a seizure, Jack was referred to The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for a CT scan and then for an MRI scan at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, which confirmed that he had a brain tumour.

He underwent surgery to remove the tumour and is now fit and well, although he does have to be scanned every six months.

Henry said: “My route will take me through a huge mix of landscapes and cultures between here and the other end of the planet.

“Once we have crossed Europe, and after a few weeks in Istanbul organising visas, we will head through Iran and over the very hostile regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, through a string of ‘Stans’ before entering China. Crossing China will be long and extremely tough cycling, but once we enter Thailand, it’ll all be downhill from there.

“This is a cause I feel really passionate about, not least because we know we are so lucky still to have my brother Jack around.”

For more information on the cycle challenge visit www.theblazingsaddles.com or to sponsor Henry go to www.justgiving.com/Henry Brydon

By Russell Roberts