A FATHER who pushed himself to the limit on a 350-mile charity cycle challenge has raised more than £2,600 in his daughter’s memory.

Kevin Nicholson, from Weymouth, took on a gruelling bike ride from London to Paris to raise funds for blood cancer charity Bloodwise.

The inspiration for his ride was the tragic loss of nine-year-old daughter Aimee, who died of leukaemia in June 2013.

Aimee was diagnosed in February 2010, just after her sixth birthday.

Despite some minor setbacks she completed her treatment at Southampton Hospital in spring 2012.

Dad Kevin said: “Everybody’s lives slowly started to get back to normal and Aimee enjoyed a summer of being free from treatment, learning to swim, riding her bike and spending time on the beach.

“Sadly This was short-lived as she started to experience numbness in her face, pain in her jaw and in her hip.

“In September 2012 doctors confirmed that she had relapsed.

“Treatment the second time round was much harder on her, physically and mentally, and she experienced some horrific problems as she prepared for a stem cell transplant.

“At one point her condition was so serious that she spent several weeks in intensive care.”

Unfortunately, another round of chemotherapy failed to reduce the cancer cells enough for Aimee to undergo a stem cell transplant, and her parents were told by doctors that there was nothing more that could be done for her.

Kevin said: “Ironically when we received this news she was the best spirited she had been in a long time.

“We filled her last weeks with some happy experiences, including trips to Legoland, Center Parcs and London, concentrating on time together as a family and making happy memories.”

The Bloodwise London to Paris ride presented the perfect opportunity for Kevin to do something positive in memory of Aimee.

He said: “I wanted to do something to raise awareness of childhood cancer, whilst helping to fund better and more effective treatments so other children and their families will hopefully not have to go through the same in the future.

“It was great to be cycling with so many other cyclists in such a large group, all sharing our stories and hopes.

“The feeling of cycling towards the Arc de Triomphe on closed roads was really special and something I will never forget and hope to repeat again next year.”

As well as taking part in the four-day ride, Kevin is backing the UK’s biggest ever blood cancer awareness campaign that was launched by Bloodwise last month.

The charity launched its billboard campaign in response to a crisis in awareness of the group of diseases, which includes leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Diana Jupp, director of patient experience at Bloodwise, said: “This lack of awareness cannot be tackled overnight, and this campaign is the first step to addressing the problem.”

To support Kevin visit bloodwise.org.uk/KevinNicholson