British Charity Cyclist, killed in a collision with two vehicles, has reached target of £10,000 for the Air Ambulance

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British Charity Cyclist, killed in a collision with two vehicles, has reached target of £10,000 for the Air Ambulance

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Further to BBC Somerset's news on 4 October, of Graham Lees, a charity cyclist, who was cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats, a distance of about 1000 miles, when he was killed by two vehicles, close to the finish.

Owing to the incredible support from readers of the BBC website, cyclists round the country, and other generous individuals, over the last week, the late cyclist, has not only reached his £10,000 target but he has raised, so far, £13,390 for the Air Ambulance.   

"A cyclist who died in a road accident in Somerset had been on the final days of a charity bike ride from John O’ Groats to Land’s End, police have said. Graham Lees, a 48-year-old father-of-two who lived near Warwick, died on Thursday on the A38 near Taunton when he was struck by two vehicles. Police said Mr Lees had been raising money for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.

The accident happened at about 1745 BST between Walford Cross and Monkton Elm.

Police have appealed for witnesses.

Mr Lees was managing director of Banbury-based Cotswold Lifts. In a statement the firm said Mr Lees would be sorely missed by his family, friends and colleagues. “His interests were many - including flying, motorbiking and raising money for charity,” a spokesman said.

“He was very proud to have raised £10,000 in 2006 For Breast Cancer Care, a cause very close to home. He leaves a widow and two teenage children.”

Details have not yet emerged as to the exact circumstances of how the fatal accident happened.  No information has been provided on the other two vehicles involved.

According to the BBC news in early October, there was yet another serious accident involving a cyclist. This cyclist was airlifted to safety:-

"The man, who is believed to be in his mid 30s, collided with a car near the Boycott Arms Public House, Upper Ludstone, Claverley, earlier.

He was airlifted to New Cross Hospital, in Wolverhampton, for treatment. The occupants of the car were not injured".

Recently several cyclists have been killed by lorries or on the road and 'white ghostbikes' have been placed at spots where cyclists, up and down the country, have also died.

In comparison, the Telegraph in September reported, that the total number of servicemen and women to be killed in Afghanistan, "since operations began" in October 2001 is now 120".

This is, infact, less than the number of cyclists killed in the UK in 2006 and 2007. The Department of Transport's website states "The number of pedal cyclists killed fell by 7 per cent from 146 in 2006 to 136 in 2007."

No doubt the money raised by Graham Lees, his legacy, will help future people to safety, as more accidents of this nature will continue as traffic increases. 

As an endurance cyclist myself and one that was considering the journey that Graham Lees, this struck a chord in me. The news highlights the dangers of the route (or routes as there are several) and how dangerous long charity rides can be. Often we have to cycle on the main roads without a police escort. It is an incredible undertaking to cycle all that way to Scotland when clearly, the route to John' O'Groats is so dangerous now.  

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If the Powers-that-be at NP allow, I could provide the Justgiving website. I just don't want to Spam NP though.