A 30-STRONG group of family and friends will cycle 40 miles in aid of a Newport hospice which cared for their loved one.

Keen cyclist Dave Rees decided to take on the challenge in memory of his father-in-law John Dixon, 80, who was cared for at St Anne's Hospice before he lost his year-long battle with bowel cancer last September.

Mr Dixon, who was a crane driver for British Dredging, was well known in the Nash community where he lived and his family thought it was only right they did something in his memory.

So Mr Rees, who last year raised £650 for the charity when he cycled from London to Brighton, has this time enlisted the help of many of Mr Dixon's family, including his sons John, 46, and Alan, 42, for the challenge on May 13.

Also taking part are Mr Dixon's grandchildren Lewis, 21, Grant, 27, Nicola, 19 and Matthew, 22.

The group will set off from St Anne's and St Joseph's Hospice in Malpas, visiting ten hospitals in Newport and Cardiff on the 40-mile course before making their way back to where they started.

Mr Dixon's daughter Linda and granddaughter Kelly, 20, will accompany them on foot for the final 10-miles.

Three members of the Newport Round Table, which paid for their team's T-shirts, will also join them on their venture to raise £5,000.

To make a donation to the cause visit justgiving.com/johnnydixon