A cyclist from Lindford left unable to ride following a serious car accident has begun a gruelling challenge in support of the Alton charity that changed his life.

Darren Faulkner wants to raise money and awareness for Andy’s Man Club as he turned to the mental health charity while recovering from a serious accident in 2018.

He’s now back on two wheels and more than halfway through a tough challenge to cycle to all ten of this season’s British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) races.

He’s already completed six with the latest being a 144-mile ride to the Donnington Park circuit near Derby.

The longest was a “tough” 460-mile journey to the Knockhill Racing Circuit, near Edinburgh, that took Darren nearly a week to cover.

The challenge began with a simple idea: Darren had always wanted to attend every touring car race in a season, before deciding he would cycle to them instead.

He chose Andy’s Man Club as he’s long been an attendee and supporter, setting an original target of £10,000.

He’s just past the £5,000 mark as donations surged after he was interviewed by ITV4 pundit Paul O’Neill. The former touring car driver and others also facilitated the loan of a high-end road bike after seeing the 20-year-old bicycle Darren had been using.

The publicity has also helped spread awareness of Andy’s Man Club, which provides informal peer-to-peer support for men. He said: “I think every town should have one.”

The final ride will be to Brands Hatch, where Darren hopes Andy’s Man Club will have an awareness stand.

“I don’t realise at the moment what I’ve done,” he said. “Maybe when I do the last one, it will sink in a little bit.”

To donate look for Darren Faulkner on www.justgiving.com