By Francesca Coleman

A BANK manager from Taunton will be taking on a nine day charity challenge later this month.

Noel Munson will be cycling almost 1,000 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats along with 20 of his colleagues from Lloyds Banking Group branches across the UK.

The team are hard at work preparing for the journey, which has a target of raising over £95,000 for their chosen charities – Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland.

The Lloyds Banking Group relationship manager said: “At the National Conference of Home Instead Senior Care I heard about the personal experience of Norman McNamara of Torquay, who lives with dementia and has campaigned to raise awareness of the condition.

“I was deeply touched by his story and – along with my wife Vanessa – am involved in early discussions to make Taunton a dementia-friendly community.

“By taking part in the Ride Across Britain challenge, I will be glad to see my efforts also fund vital research into a cure.”

The money raised will help to support those with dementia and funding valuable research into finding a cure for the illness.

If you want to find out more or to sponsor Noel, please visit his Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/noelm John Bodenham, director of fundraising (interim) at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We are so grateful to the 21 Lloyds Banking Group fundraisers who are giving up their time not only to raise money but also hit the road and train to get themselves in shape for what will be an incredible and unforgettable experience.

“Dementia affects 800,000 people across the UK and the money raised through this challenge will help to ensure people with dementia and their carers have the best possible quality of life, as well as funding valuable research into a cure for the future.”