Blind man on charity cycle ride

Brian Anthony (left) and Peter McDonald will ride a tandem

A blind man from Greater Manchester is to cycle across Britain and Ireland in aid of a centre for the homeless.

Brian Anthony will ride 600 miles with a friend on a tandem to raise money for the Stockport-based Wellspring which needs a new building.

The pair, who hope to raise £2,000 from the ride which starts on 18 March, will spend the eight nights living rough.

Paul Connery, project co-ordinator at The Wellspring, said: "It will highlight the homelessness issue."

Computer programmer Brian - who lost his sight at 14 - and Peter McDonald, also from Bramhall, did a similar fund-raising event three years ago when they cycled around Scotland.

Mr Connery said: "To put in all that effort for us is a superb gesture by Brian and Peter. It has certainly caught people's imagination."

He said the Fletcher Street centre, staffed by more than 100 volunteers, has 700 members who use its facilities, which include a soup kitchen.

"We are looking for a new purpose-built building as the current one is in a bad state of repair - I think it was a scout hut from the Second World War," he said.

"As well as being a soup kitchen, The Wellspring is also a day centre offering activities and courses for the homeless and disadvantaged. We have outgrown the place."