TWO East Cornwall residents joined novelist and TV presenter Fern Britton for her latest cycling challenge, helping to raise funds for Genesis Research Trust's research into the prevention of miscarriage in pregnancy.

Gail Buttery, from Callington, and Annette Evans, from Kelly Bray, joined Fern for the Devon and Cornwall stages of her John O'Groats to Lands End cycle as the Times went to press yesterday (Wednesday).

Fern cycled 57 miles a day from John O'Groats to Land's End from May 1 and was due to finish the ride today (Thursday). The TV star was hoping to raise at least £57,000 to fund research into the prevention of miscarriage during pregnancy.

More than 70 men and women signed up to join her along the way.

A proud patron of Genesis Research Trust, whose chairman is Professor Robert Winston, Fern said before the Devon and Cornwall stages: 'This is one of the greatest personal challenges for me. I am delighted that Annette and Gail are joining me. Together we can do it and together we might just get closer to stopping the heartbreak of miscarriage.'

Gail said: 'This is my fifth cycle challenge for the charity and I'm thrilled Annette is joining me on this one. We know this stage will be the toughest and most challenging of the entire route but cycling for such a worthwhile cause will spur us on to get up the hills.'

One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage and between one and two percent of couples in the UK may suffer more than once, which can lead to severe psychological stress.

Women who experience recurrent miscarriage are also at higher risk of a variety of complications in a subsequent ongoing pregnancy, including pre-term delivery, pre-eclampsia and low birth rate babies. Chromosomal errors in the implanting embryo are a common finding in miscarriage, although often the pregnancy losses remain unexplained. As a result, many affected patients receive either no treatment or are treated with a variety of drugs that have little effect.

Further research is required to understand the causes of miscarriage, to enable clinicians to predict which couples are more likely to suffer a miscarriage and to develop effective preventative treatments.