A GREAT-grandad will rely on serious pedal power when he cycles over 1,000 miles across the UK for charity.

Fred Uttley will be jum-ping in the saddle for next month’s ‘Tour de Fred’, which will take him to all 22 Catholic dioceses in Engl-and and Wales.

The 68-year-old, of Sim-onstone Lane, Simonstone, is hoping to raise awareness of world hunger and much-needed cash for farmers in Bangladesh, through Cath-olic aid agency, CAFOD.

Explaining that inspira-tion came ‘out of the blue’ as an alternative to the regular fund-raising quiz, of his parish, Mr Uttley said: “I wanted to think of another way to raise money, so I was sat at home and then it came to me: ‘Why don’t I do a bike ride round each of the dioceses in the UK for CAFOD?’”

But, he added: “I haven’t ridden a bike in over 50 years, so I think that the distance will be the biggest challenge!”

The tour will begin on June 9, when the grandad-of-eight and great-grandad-of-two will depart from Salford Cathedral.

The former plumber will be joined by his niece’s husband, Mark Brown, a former soldier who lost his arm in an accident, and went on to win silver medal at the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000.

The third member of the team will be The Broken Biscuit author John Cowell, from Burnley, described by Fred as 'support driver, communicator, planner of routes, medic, author and chef'.

After two loops of the country the trio will arrive back at Manchester’s Holy Name church on June 28, having covered more than 1,100 miles and visited more than 25 schools, churches, and cathedrals in more than 30 villages, towns and cities.

All cash raised will go towards CAFOD’s ‘Hungry for Change’ campaign, which is calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to take action to fix the global food system.

The ardent Burnley FC fan has volunteered for CAFOD for more than 10 years, helping fight poverty and injustice through charity work.

Fred can be sponsored at www.justgiving.com/tourdefred. An interactive map is available at the website www.cafod.org.uk/tourdefred