GAZETTE & HERALD: CYCLIST Mike Pope who lost a leg, has completed a 1,007-mile cycle to John O'Groats.

Mr Pope, 60, from Box, cycled from one end of the country to the other in 18 days to raise money for St John Ambulance.

He cycled with friend Diane Stuckey who ended up in Inverness Hospital with pneumonia, leaving Mr Pope to finish the expedition on his own.

Supporting Mr Pope was a team of drivers who towed his caravan, loaned by Pickwick Caravans.

Mr Pope finished his journey last Wednesday soaking wet, but there was a glass of champagne waiting for him.

"I did the last 30 miles from Thurso in one go because I was so cold and wet I didn't want to stop. I was sopping wet and squishing in my trainers when I got to the finish line," he said.

Mr Pope said the most difficult part of the journey was the bad weather and hilly terrain in Scotland.

"I cycled across Scotland for 11 days and it rained every single day bar one. To get on the bike when it is cold and raining is really hard," he said.

Mr Pope returned home two days later after doing some sightseeing and staying with relatives. They collected Mrs Stuckey from the hospital and brought her back to her home in Oxfordshire.

Mr Pope, who was keen to get back to the comfort of home, drove most of the journey back, only stopping for short breaks.

He said: "I am feeling reasonably good. I have not stopped rushing about since I got back because I have got a business to run. In a couple of days I take over the presidency of the Rotary Club so I have hit the ground running."

But he has still managed to fit in some celebrating with friends.

"David Hempleman-Adams came round with a bottle of champagne on Sunday with cards made by his daughters."

Mr Pope lost his right leg in 1980 when he became entangled in a harrow machine.

He became a keen cyclist and had a bicycle specially made for the end-to-end challenge. He hopes to have raised £5,000 from the expedition.

The biggest highlight of the journey was the warm welcome he received on arrival in Thurso, 30 miles from his final destination, as he handed over the Fisherman's Mission banner from Cornwall that had travelled with him.