Chippenham grandfather Paul Lye has cycled 4,000 miles after overcoming a hip replacement.

The 64-year-old had never been a bike enthusiast before, but took up endurance cycling after the operation gave him a new lease of life. He hopes to show others a hip replacement does not mean the end to keeping fit.

Mr Lye, a retired electrical engineer, suffered hip problems for more than a decade and the pain was keeping him awake at night.

He said: “The only way I could get on a bike was to put it on the floor and pop my leg up and I couldn’t last long cycling until my hips would start going, so I didn’t bother.”

Now the grandfather-of- four has raised £1,700 for the Children’s Hospice South West by completing a 300-mile ride from London to Paris in just four days.

Mr Lye started training 12 months after having his hip replacement operation at the end of 2011. It was carried out at Emersons Green Treatment Centre in Bristol, which treats NHS patients but is run by independent provider Care UK.

Mr Lye, of Argyll Drive, said: “It’s a big change for me. I’ve suddenly found a sport I love that I’ve never really done before.

“I started off doing a couple of miles a day and gradually built it up. I bought a road bike and I’ve now been cycling for the best part of 12 months.”

According to scans at the hospital, his other hip may also be damaged, but he said he did not feel any pain on the London to Paris ride.

He said: “If I have the other one done, then Emersons Green NHS Treatment Centre would be my first choice without a doubt.”