A FORMER pupil of Bere Alston Primary School and Tavistock College, Michael Tomes and his wife Claire will be taking part in this year's Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race, a distance of more than 125 miles over Easter weekend.

Mike and his family now live in the Lake District with their two children Arran, six, and May, four.

When Arran was four, he was diagnosed with non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and spent a gruelling six months back and forth to Manchester Children's Hospital for chemotherapy.

Arran is now progressing well, however if it wasn't for the research into blood cancers, then things may have been very different.

As a way of saying thank you, Mike and Claire will be taking on this challenge and raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research (beating blood cancers).

The couple have been training hard, canoeing on Lake Windemere even on dark evenings and in freezing, snowy conditions.

Anyone who would like to support them can do so by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/claireandmiketomes">www.justgiving.com/claireandmiketomes or contact Mike's mother Mary on 01837 871541 or email [email protected]">[email protected]