A SET of drinking buddies are saddling up to cycle more than 960 miles and raise £10,000 for cancer research.

Nathan Dale said he simply did not know what to do when he found out his mother had cancer.

Bridget Butler, of Stonesfield, was diagnosed with a tumour on her throat in 2009.

Mr Dale, 38, said he felt helpless when the family learned after that even after 10 days of radiotherapy, the tumour was was inoperable.

The father-of-two then came up with a fundraising plan and managed to enlist three of his oldest friends.

Mr Dale will be joined by Jeremy Laight and Alan Carreras, of Witney, and Wayne Lewis, of Middle Barton, when he sets off to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats in June.

He said: “I felt completely helpless when I found out mum had cancer.

“I think everyone does when they discover a loved one has the disease.

“Thankfully it’s now in remission. But I felt determined to do something to help. I announced my intention was to cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

“We were in a pub so perhaps that’s why Wayne, Alan and Jeremy agreed to come with me!”

All the cash will go to Cancer Research UK and the friends have already raised £3,837 of their £10,000 target.

The team have been meeting up weekly for training sessions and are cautiously confident they will conquer the challenge.

Mr Dale, who lives in Bicester, added: “None of us are cyclists. We all went out and bought bikes especially for the ride.

“But we have been training hard, time will tell if we’re doing enough.”

Grandmother-of-six, Ms Butler said she was touched by what her son and his friends were doing in her honour.

She said: “What the boys are doing, anyone in my situation would appreciate. In fact everyone whose lives have been touched by cancer will appreciate it.”

To support the four, visit justgiving.com/5blokes-end2end.