I AM writing to tell you why my family is supporting the British Heart Foundation's 'Hearts First Bike Ride' on the Somerset Levels, on June 5, and part of the charity's national fundraising week, 'Help a Heart Week'.

My husband and I have been involved in the British Heart Foundation for 25 years and the reason we support the Hearts First Bike Ride is because the nation's heart charity is close to our hearts.

I had a heart attack when I was 55. My husband Raymond had a heart attack eight years ago and our three sons all had heart attacks in their 40s. It was a shock when we learnt that heart disease was hereditary and that women are almost as likely to die from it as men. In fact, one in three women in the UK are killed by heart and circulatory disease.

I believe my family owes its lives to the BHF because of its pioneering research into the causes and treatment of heart disease. The BHF spends £180 every two minutes on research that saves and improves the lives of men, women and children whose hearts are in crisis.

One way the people of Somerset can help the BHF raise the money it needs to fight heart and circulatory disease is by joining us on Sunday June 5 at Abbeymoor Stadium in Glastonbury and taking part in the Hearts First Bike Ride -Somerset Levels.

To register for the event, visit www.bhf.org.uk/events or call 0800 652 5818 for more information.

Mrs DAPHNE HAWKINS, Somerset branch chairman, BHF