An employee of Blackwood-based confectioner Bon Bon Buddies is undertaking a gruelling four-day, 325-mile cycling challenge in aid of the Light Fund charity.

Max O’Brien, a senior license account manager, is representing Bon Bon Buddies, one of Europe’s premier manufacturers of character and branded confectionery, by taking part in the Light Fund Cycle Tour 2018.

He has joined up to 70 others including top licensing executives from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies such as Disney, Nickelodeon and NBC Universal, to cycle from Bristol to Dublin in the hope of collectively raising £150,000 for the licensing industry’s official charity.

The 30-year-old set off from Bristol on June 12 and is expected to arrive in Dublin on June 15, with several checkpoints in south Wales along the way, including Newport, at which he will make a £5,000 donation to children’s hospice, Tŷ Hafan, on behalf of the confectioner.

The Light Fund was set up by people working in the licensing industry to help fund charity projects supporting men, women and children in the UK and overseas. Since its establishment in 2004, it has donated more than £1m to charities such as Alzheimer’s Society, The Children’s Trust, Bliss and Challenge Africa.

Bon Bon Buddies, which produces and distributes a mixture of licensed and own-brand confectionery, has a strong fundraising history: its managing director, Justin Thomas, completed the London Marathon earlier this year in aid of Tŷ Hafan.

Mr O’Brien said: “I’m honoured to be part of an industry-wide charity and I’m confident that, together, we will smash our fundraising target.”