A Haslemere mum is saddling up to support the charity which helped her son on the road to recovery and a brighter future following cancer treatment.

Theresa Kennedy from Haslemere will be joining the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust’s Largs-to-Cowes cycle challenge for the final push to the finish on Friday, June 24.

Her son Dominic was aged just four when diagnosed in December 2013 with a rare type of cancer called Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, resulting in treatment at three hospitals, gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and worries around returning to school.

The family heard about the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust through the children’s ward at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.

The charity has since enabled Dominic to go on three sailing trips – the latest one taking place in May when he joined the trust’s first trip of the season from Cowes.

Now aged 12 and at senior school, Theresa said Dominic’s experiences with the trust had played a vital role in supporting and helping him to regain his confidence and independence.

She said: “I wanted to take part in a fundraising event for the trust because Dominic has benefited so much from his trips and so I would like to do something in return.

“I would like to complete the challenge knowing I’ve achieved a significant sum of money to give back to the trust.”

The eight-day challenge between the trust’s bases will take riders a total of 600 miles from the west of Scotland to England’s south coast, and Theresa is gearing up to tackle the last leg of the journey, cycling 75 miles from Wells in Somerset to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Theresa’s previous fundraising challenges have included a four-day London to Paris bike ride in 2015 for The Royal Marsden Hospital.

Juggling work and family life – including two Labradors and a flock of chickens, ducks and quails – Theresa has been in training for her latest challenge with regular cycle rides.

Describing herself as a “fair weather wheeler”, she added: “I am looking forward to doing something physical and having time away – and I’m determined to not be the last back.”