ENERGETIC Alan Roff endured scorching heat, torrential rain and mosquito attacks to cycle across the Andes for charity.

The 50-year-old Whalley man has just returned from his 300-mile ordeal, shared with 65 others from all over the UK, to raise £250,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Alan alone has raised over £7,000 for the charity through 250 personal donations and sponsorship. The seven-day adventure across dirt tracks and small roads began in the jungle near Tena and took the group through rainforests, deserts and banana plantations.

As they crossed the equator they experienced a day and night of torrential rain before more scorching heat and assaults from mosquitos and sandflies.

Alan, of The Marjorie, Billington, said he was kept going by the cause of the trip and never once thought of giving up. He said: "When you do things like this you're always conscious of what you're doing it for.

"We kept going in the knowledge that our ordeal was a minor challenge compared to that faced by people fighting cancer.

"I just hope that, with the aid of my sponsors, I can help to make a difference to their lives."

Alan, who practises his pedalling in the Ribble Valley, is also vice deputy chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.

He hopes even more will be raised for Macmillan by a fundraising weekend at the Aspinall Arms, Mitton, from tomorrow to Sunday.

For every meal sold the pub will contribute an amount to the charity.