RICHARD House, a 48 year old from Farnham, cycled 450 miles from London to Edinburgh in four-and-a-half days to raise money for children in the developing world who are living with clefts.

Richard has supported Smile Train in the past through monthly direct debit, but wanted to do more – so he pledged to raise enough money to cover at least 10 cleft repair surgeries through his fundraising page for the cycle challenge.

Having exceeded his target by more than double - raising £3,360 for the charity - Richard is extremely pleased to know that he has changed the lives of 22 children by covering the cost of their cleft surgeries and giving them the power of a smile.

Speaking of his cycle experience, Richard said: “I spent the last month training for the cycle, which was nowhere near enough. I’m not an experienced cyclist, and I had a bad fall a few years ago and lost all confidence on a bike. However, I managed to overcome that.

“We were nine people in total which made the whole experience fun, despite the physical challenge and feeling pain in places I’ve never felt pain before!”

Donations towards Richard’s cause can still be made online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-house1 .