CYCLIST Craig Townsend has thanked friends and supporters after the final tally for his cycle ride in memory of Devizes hairdresser Kelly Ross raised £1,761.

Mr Townsend, 34, of Quakers Road, Devizes, took part in the Wiltshire 100 cycle ride at the beginning of September to raise money for the Forever Friends Appeal at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

Mrs Ross' family are supporting the appeal to raise money for a new cancer unit. The mother-of-two died this summer aged 32 and was treated in her last months at the hospital.

Mr Townsend, whose wife Abi was Mrs Ross' cousin, said: "I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone. To raise £1,761 in the end was great considering at the start I was targeting around £500."

During the cycle ride he wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a picture of Mrs Ross.