THE death of a baby boy from meningitis has inspired an endurance cyclist to raise money in his memory.

Lizzie Parry

THE death of a baby boy from meningitis has inspired an endurance cyclist to raise money in his memory.

Lee Ransome, 23, from Ipswich, is cycling from Ipswich to Edinburgh - a distance of 400 miles - starting on April 29.

He initially planned to donate the money he raises to Cancer Research but after the death of a close friend's baby from meningitis, he said he wanted to do something to honour to help research into the disease.

Nine-month-old Taylor Westley-Smith, from Kesgrave, died in the early hours of March 15 after suffering a paediatric arrest.

Mr Ransome, of Porter Road, said: “I just want to do what I can for little Taylor, and in the future to help stop any other families go through such a tragic time.”

The journey is set to take Mr Ransome seven days and each day he plans to cover a gruelling 70 miles.

To get himself in the best possible physical shape ahead of the challenge, Mr Ransome has been following a strict training programme, cycling to different locations around the region each weekend, making it to Norwich in four hours on one training stint.

As well as supporting Meningitis UK, Mr Ransome, who works as a transport planner, will be raising funds for Cancer Research after his wife had a scare recently.

He said: “Sitting in the waiting room at the hospital waiting for test results really made me want to do something to help.

“Several family members have suffered from the disease and after our recent scare which turned out to be a false alarm I just wanted to help others going through the same difficult times.”

Mr Ransome is hoping to raise around �1,000 to split between the charities. If you would like to support him you can donate money at www.justgiving.com/leeransome.