A Budleigh cyclist has raised nearly £1,400 for the Exeter Leukaemia Fund by riding the length of Spain – 717 miles – in just eight days.

Mark Godsland cycled from Santander on the north coast to Malaga in the south.

The Budleigh Salterton Lions Club had agreed to sponsor his ride, and at their business meeting in t the second week of August they presented him with a cheque for £200.

At the meeting he gave a presentation about his ride, which took the route of the Via de la Plata, passing through some of the Roman and medieval cities in western Spain, such as Zamora, Salamanca, Caceres, Merida and Seville.

He even managed to take a day off to spend time in Seville, meaning he completed the 717 miles in seven days of cycling.

Richard Allen, president of Budleigh Salterton Lions Club, said: “When Mark contacted us initially we were so impressed that he’d be cycling all that way, and for a local charity, and we had supported him before, and we were only too pleased to do it again - our only regret is that we couldn’t give them more money, but we’ve only got limited resources.”

It was the third time the Lions had supported Mark as he undertook a sponsored extreme cycle ride. In 2021 he undertook the Manche to Mer challenge in France, from St Malo to Nice. He completed it in 10 days. In 2019 he took part in the TransAm Bike Race, an annual, self-supported, ultra-distance cycling race across the United States. Riders pedal 4,200 miles, coast to coast.