A team of cyclists from Delphi in Sudbury are part way through a bike ride of more than 200 miles to support research into dementia.

The six employees are riding from Paris to Luxembourg over three days for Alzheimer’s Research UK, finishing on Saturday, June 24.

Russell Edwards, manufacturing technician at Delphi, said he lost his father to posterior cortical atrophy in 2015 - a rarer form of Alzheimer’s that famous author Terry Pratchett also suffered with.

Mr Edwards said: “We first noticed that my father’s vision was deteriorating by the way he was driving. The was because the part of the brain that the disease effected was the vision centre. There was actually nothing wrong with his eyes, it was simply that the brain was no longer able to process the information.

“My father ended up requiring 24-hour care as the Alzheimer’s took its toll. There was not much in the way of available medication to halt the progression, only delay it.

“This is why we need the teams funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK to find better treatments and one day, hopefully a cure. This is why I was very pleased when the Delphi team agreed to support Alzheimer’s Research UK for our upcoming cycle events.”

The other team members are Phil Ramsey, Rob Davies, Darren Theobald, Mike Bampton and Mike Felton. Day one from Paris to Soissons took in 74.5 miles, with 112 miles on day two from Soissons to Marville, finishing in Luxembourg City on day three with another 30 miles.

Mr Edwards added: “I am sure that sadly everyone knows of someone with or has lost someone through some form of dementia. They are cruel diseases that rob you of a loved one in front of your eyes not once but twice!”

There is a further event on July 7, which is open to all site employees, taking in a 20-mile loop starting at the Delphi social club. The route includes Great and Little Waldingfield, Brent Eleigh, Lavenham, Acton and Long Melford.

Mr Edwards said: “We have held this popular event for the past five years raising over £8,000 in the process! We are hoping to break the £10,000 mark with this year’s event for Alzheimer’s Research UK.”

To support the Paris to Luxembourg bike ride go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/delphisudbury