A group of employees from a Bury St Edmunds-based brewery and pub retailer will today embark on a 250-mile cycle challenge from London to Paris to raise money for charity.

The 34-strong team of cyclists from Greene King, made up of staff from across the country, will tackle the challenge in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and are expected to arrive in the French capital on Saturday.

The fundraiser is part of the brewer’s ‘Miles for Macmillan’ campaign, in which the company’s staff and guests are invited to walk, run, bike or swim enough miles to reach the moon.

Simon Brearley, who is based in Greene King’s Abbot House in Bury St Edmunds, is taking on the cycle in memory of his dad.

He said: “When I originally registered for the ride, it was in support of my dad, who was diagnosed with stage four small cell lung cancer in June 2016, and so the Macmillan connection was very appropriate because the charity was helping him and our family.

“Sadly, my Dad passed away in January. He was very brave throughout his diagnosis and in fact, we arrive in Paris on what would have been his birthday.

“So it’s going to be a very special day. Dad was hugely supportive of my decision to take on the challenge, so this one’s for him.”

In May 2017, Greene King announced it had raised £3 million for Macmillan, since the partnership began in 2012, and the money raised over the last year has gone directly to fund vital hours of Macmillan nursing care.