Grieving Bristol dad helps hospice which cared for son

Retired Almondsbury Primary School head teacher Roger McLean handed over £3,300 to the hospice that cared for his son before he died of cancer.

Stuart McLean was 36 when he died last year in the Sue Ryder Care Hospice in Leckhampton, Gloucestershire.

When he was ill, Roger promised keen cyclist Stuart he would take part in Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride, with Stuart offering to lend him his bike.

But the mechanical engineer and father of twin six-year-olds, Honey and Tillie, did not live to see his father keep his pledge after the cancer in his throat, diagnosed in early 2008, spread.

Roger, of Somerset Avenue, Yate, went ahead with the challenge on Father's Day in June.

He also carried out other fundraising and recently returned to Leckhampton Court with wife Avril and Stuart's partner, Angelique Jay, to present the money.

Roger, who was head teacher at Almondsbury for 23 years, thought he would end up raising a few hundred pounds. He said: "I would like to thank all of my family, friends and colleagues for their support as I could not have achieved such a large amount without them."

Friends and colleagues of Stuart, who lived in Nympsfield, near Dursley, also carried out their own fundraising and collected a further £5,300 for the hospice.