A WELL-known Carlisle surgeon is about to take on a 550-mile cycling challenge to raise funds for a new charity set up by his colleague.

Graham Putnam, 61, of Great Salkeld, is a head and neck surgeon at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, where he has worked for 25 years.

His aim is to raise money and awareness of KidsCardioJoules - a new charity set up by long-standing colleague Helen Murdock, whose son is living with a rare congenital heart condition.

“It was last year. My son collapsed in the swimming pool, aged eight. He survived, but it turned out he has Long QT Syndrome,” said Helen.

Those with the condition are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, but most don’t know they have it until it is too late.

Now 10, her son Sam is one of the lucky ones. Helen wants to see hospitals routinely screening newborn babies for the condition.

To help her campaign, Graham decided to embark on the cycling challenge.

He is taking the train to London, then cycling to the ferry terminal at Portsmouth.

Here he will meet cycling partner Geoff Percival, a retired GP and old school friend, who lives in Dorset. The pair will travel to France together, setting off on the 550-mile challenge on June 23.

The route takes them from Saint-Malo in Brittany to Eymet in the Dordogne, covering more than 100 miles a day, for five consecutive days.

A keen cyclist, Graham said it is a journey he has always been keen to attempt.

“I read a book called Fat Man on a Bicycle in the early 1980s,” he explained. “It was about a 19-stone journalist who decided to do this and wrote a book about it. It was just a really witty account and seemed like a great cycling route.

“I always wanted to do it, but have never really had the time. I just decided I want to do it now before I am too old. I love cycling in France so I’m really looking forward to it. “

Graham decided that the icing on the cake would be to use his personal challenge to support his colleague.

KidsCardioJoules is trying to raise £2,000 to develop screening for congenital cardiac defects, to help prevent unnecessary deaths.

To support him and donate, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helen-murdock.