Ref.10603MIKE Pope lost his right leg below the knee in a farming accident but on Sunday he will attempt his latest mammoth charity cycle ride, pedalling 104 miles to London.

Mr Pope, 60, of Hatt Farm, in Box, lost his leg in 1980, when he became entangled in a harrow machine.

His leg was completely severed but he managed to drag himself across fields to his home.

In the late 1990s, having been fitted with an artificial limb, Mr Pope discovered he could cycle quite well.

And as his love of cycling grew, so did his ambitions.

"I decided I wanted to start taking part in cycle rides for charity, but my leg was a suction model with a foot, which got hot quickly and made long distances difficult," he said.

"So I went along to the artificial limb centre at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and asked if I could help design a leg to make cycling easier."

His new limb attaches to the stump of his leg with grips and the shaft is a fibre pole, which is more manoeuvrable and leaves his real leg exposed, to stop it getting too hot.

"The new leg works well and I was soon cycling hundreds of miles a week and working out in the gym too," said Mr Pope.

In February he cycled across Cuba, raising £3,500 for others who had lost limbs.

Now he he is set for the 104-mile trip from Bath to London in aid of Action Research.

"It is a very worthy cause," he said. "As well as carrying out research into childhood diseases, Action Research also deals with people who have lost limbs."

Now semi-retired from farming, Mr Pope says he has no intention of slowing down. "I'm always looking for the next challenge which comes along," he said.