THE Royal British Legion has hailed a Stamford Bridge man who plans to cycle and run from York Minster to Whitby Abbey in a day to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal.

John Gabbetis intends to cycle first from the Minster to the Hole of Horcum on the North York Moors, just beyond Pickering, accompanied by other cyclists, on Sunday September 27.

Then he is set to dismount and run the rest of the route to the abbey, carrying a minimum of 22lbs on his back.

John, who has so far raised £120 of his £500 target, said this weight was the minimum a soldier would routinely be required to carry on an exercise.

"This is just a small challenge that I'll be doing on the day and it is nothing compared to the daily challenges a veteran will have had to endure," said John, who works for Wrights Plant Hire, based at Crockey Hill.

He thanked his personal trainer and brother-in-law Mick East who would be accompanying him on the trek.

The 50-year-old motorcyclist, who is a member of a legion Riders Branch for North Yorkshire, said he had been involved in different fundraising activities in the past for other charities, York Against Cancer and the RNLI.

These included one challenge about ten years ago which involved running from York Minster to Selby Abbey, cycling back to the Minster, rowing down the river back to Selby and then finally riding back to York.

He said he had recently been finding out more about the legion's work in helping with the rehabilitation of veterans, and wanted to stress it did not not just help former servicemen from the Second World War - as some people might think - but also from more recent conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stewart Lythe, the Royal British Legion’s fundraiser for North & East Yorkshire, said: “This is a remarkable challenge being undertaken by a remarkable man for a worthy cause and I invite all, especially those on the route, to support John’s efforts in person or at https://www.justgiving.com/JOHN-GABBETIS/."