What a hero, he’s done it – 86-year-old Corsham superman Eric Ayling tonight completed his marathon 100-hour cycle to raise money for Help For Heroes.

And now he says he is turning the phones off and is going to bed for 24 hours.

RAF veteran Eric completed his 10 days in the saddle at 7 pm tonight, cheered on by supporters who marvelled at his tenacity.

Eric rode for 10 hours a day for 10 consecutive days on a sponsored endurance to raise funds for the charity that helps support ex-personnel from all three Services who have been affected during the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eric rode the challenge on a static exercise bike at Corsham’s Springfield Leisure Campus and at MOD Corsham, pressing on despite a cancer diagnosis.

“Since I had my diagnosis there’ve been days when my body gave up or I felt depressed, but the cycling has helped me to overcome it,” he said.

“My consultant has told me to keep on training, so I will… I aim to live to 100.”

At the end of the gruelling ride he added: “If I say I’ll do something I do it, but it hasn’t been easy.

“I won’t ever forget the support of the wonderful people who have come to see me and cycle along beside me.

“Now I’m going to go home, lock all the doors and windows, turn off all my phones and go to sleep for 24 hours.

“I’m really tired, I’ve got to be honest about it. But I knew I’d make it, I knew it was going to be hard but if I say I’ll do something I’ll do it.”

Eric hopes to raise £10,000 fore Help For Heroes through sponsorship and donations for his feat. In the last eight years Eric has raised over £19,000 from completing challenges on a static bike. The challenges range from 2 hours to 50 hours over a set number of consecutive days. But this was his most challenging ride yet.