Determined fund-raiser Simon Jacobs carried on with a 875-mile cycle ride despite his two friends dropping out with injuries – and raised £10,000 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal.

Mr Jacobs, 45, rode from London to Edinburgh and back in recognition of the help given to his wife, Lisa, who was flown to hospital after she was butted in the face by a horned sheep at their small- holding at Worton.

He and his friends had to complete the journey in five days, but three days in, Shaun Moulton, of Bradford on Avon, and Dan Farrell, of Stratford-upon-Avon, were forced to quit with bad injuries.

Mr Jacobs, a former Army officer and now a property search agent, said: “It was quite upsetting for Shaun and Dan to pull out. I didn’t really have time to think very much about their absence, I was just dealing with each stage and looking for the next checkpoint.

“There were other people doing the cycle ride so I got chatting to them.”

One of the most challenging parts of the ride was cycling through the Scottish hills to Dalkeith in the dark in strong winds and with rain coming down in stair rods.

Mr Jacobs could not travel too fast as a partially-sighted cyclist was following him and relying on the tail light on his bike as his guide.

On average Mr Jacobs cycled 180 to 200 miles a day.

He was followed by his wife and their three young children in a camper van.

This is the longest trip he has cycled. Last year he rode 365 miles through France raising money for the Help for Heroes charity.

So far he has raised £7,000 for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal. To make a donation go to www.justgiving.com/simon jacobs4waa Melanie Gee, appeal administrator, said: “Everyone at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal is truly grateful to Simon for his efforts.

“What he has done is such an amazing feat.”

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance needs to raise £500,000 a year to keep the air ambulance flying.