THREE South West MPs at the House of Commons greeted a Devon County Show steward last week as she completed a 200-mile cycle ride to raise funds for a new rural hub in Devon.

Deborah Custance Baker, who is the pig secretary at the Okehampton Show and regularly writes a column for the Times’ show supplement, was met by MPs Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton), Hugo Swire (East Devon) and Ben Bradshaw (Exeter).

She finished the distance in three days on her trusty, second-hand bike despite falling off several times and losing her map.

‘Fortunately the weather was sunny all the way but cycling around London was quite scary,’ she said.  ‘Now that I’ve finished I feel fine but I’ll be putting the bike away for the foreseeable future!’

Deborah, 51, decided to kick-start the fundraising efforts to develop a little used building on the showground at Westpoint, Exeter.

‘The Wadsworth Pavilion is a terrific building and full of character but sadly it can’t be used to its full potential because of the lack of essential facilities,’ she said.

A £30,000 extension, to include a kitchen and loos, would create a rural hub for use by local schools, livestock breed societies and private hire.

Deborah hopes her cycle ride will make the project eligible for grant funding.

‘Most grant-awarding authorities are looking for the charity itself to put in some money so I decided to get on my bike and raise it!’ she added.

Deborah is a director of the Devon County Agricultural Association, the county show’s chief steward of the crafts and gardens pavilion and the spring sausage competition.

She also breeds and shows prize-winning large black pigs at both the Okehampton and Devon County Shows.

If you would like to support Deborah go to www.justgiving.com/deborah-custance-baker