A FORMER Worcester Warriors rugby player has raised more than £11,000 for charity after spending 48 hours on an exercise bike last weekend.

We previously reported how Jake Abbott would be riding his exercise bike non-stop for a whole weekend, inspired by his father Rodney, who is battling cancer.

Over September 4 and 5, the former Warriors player rode to raise money for Restart Rugby, which helps provide financial, practical and emotional support to rugby players forced to retire through illness or injury. He also raised for Cancer Research UK.

The 32 year-old, who is currently working as a development manager for the Rugby Players Association, said he was relieved to have finished the challenge, adding: “It was amazing. There were a few highs and a few lows over the course of the 48 hours.

“Trying to stay awake was the hardest part, my family tell me I was delirious at around midnight on the Saturday. On top of that there were knee problems and back problems which meant I had to reduce my speed to around 15mph, meaning I managed 754 miles, around 130 short of the Land's End to John O’Groats distance.

“It was really special, though. Having my family, particularly my dad, there with me was amazing and I want to thank everyone who donated and showed their support.”

Mr Abbott said the training regime was one of the hardest parts due to balancing his preparations on the bike with his regular day-to-day job and raising a young daughter.

He said: “I was doing four or five hours on the bike as well as going to work, looking after my daughter and doing crossfit training too. I think I got a sort of Stockholm syndrome with the bike – it abused me but I’ve been back on it since.”

Mr Abbott added that he will continue to raise money for Restart and Cancer Research, buying a road bike for his next challenge, which will see him attempt to ride from Land's End to John O’Groats for real.

In total, Mr Abbott has raised a total of £13,500 via his JustGiving page and GiftAid, with donations still coming in. For more information, head to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ridingforrodney