A DENTIST is getting on his bike for charity.

Mark Tyzzer-Smith will cycle 560 miles to John O’Groats for Kirkwood Hospice.

The Honley dentist will be joined by friends Tony Clark and Bob Butler for the bike ride of a lifetime.

Between them they are raising money for Kirkwood Hospice and Wakefield Hospice.

Mark is the principle dentist at the Honley Dental Practice which is based on Southgate.

He said: “My mother-in-law had cancer two years ago and had surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy as treatment.

“She was cared for at Wakefield Hospice and I didn’t know beforehand that they cared for people who had cancer and terminal illnesses but also offered help for their relatives too.

“I was in the pub one night saying that I wanted to do something to raise money for a hospice and this bike ride was mentioned and after a few drinks, 10 of us agreed to it.

“Well now there’s only three of us but we’re all determined.”

Mr Tyzzer-Smith works at the Honley practice so he has decided to support Kirkwood Hospice which supports people with terminal illnesses – and Tony and Bob are raising money for Wakefield Hospice.

He added: “I haven’t cycled since I was at university which was about 15 years ago.

“It will be a personal challenge for us all.

“We’ve done a bit of training although I’m sure cycling for eight days will be very hard.

“But it will be an adventure cycling all that way.

“The thing we have to think about though is that however hard it will be, it’s no where near as hard as having cancer is.

“So anything we can do to help will be worth it.”

Bob, a house husband, has had cancer himself and his father died of the disease and Tony is the manager of the Oxfam plant in Huddersfield.

So far Mark has raised £850 and thanked his many patients at the dental practice for their backing.

He added: “The support so far has been fantastic, I’m amazed by how generous everyone has been.”

The trio, who live on the same road in Middlestown, Wakefield, will set off on the journey from nearby Overton village to northern Scotland on June 29 for eight days.

While he is away his wife Rachael, a fellow dentist, will be standing in for him.

To sponsor Mr Tyzzer-Smith visit www.justgiving.com/marktyzzersmith