A Sheringham widow's wish to commemorate her husband is nearly within her reach, after a young man inspired by her late husband has stepped up to the plate to make her wish come true.

Eastern Daily Press: Ross Grant with Sheringham Mayor David Gooch before setting off on his trip. Picture: Jo Stone.Ross Grant with Sheringham Mayor David Gooch before setting off on his trip. Picture: Jo Stone. (Image: Jo Stone)

Jo Stone's husband Mike died early this year, but a long decade had been added to his life having been saved by a defibrillator whilst holidaying in Verona.

Mrs Stone set herself the challenge of bringing this life-saving equipment to the Sheringham seafront, and has raised £1,350 of a total £2,000 to make it happen.

The son of a lifelong friend of Mr Stone took on a cycle challenge with friends, to push the total over the finish line.

Ross Grant cycled from Sheringham seafront back to his home in Worcestershire, a distance of just over 220 miles.

Mr Grant said: 'Uncle Mike had a hugely positive influence on my life and was someone I looked up to immensely. Sheringham is a place I have looked on almost as a second home for me for as long as I can remember, and I am proud to be doing this for the town as much as for the memory of my sadly departed friend.'

The defibrillator will be housed at the Sheringham RNLI Boatshed based on the East Prom.

If you would like to donate money toward the installation and further upkeep of the defibrillator, visit Ross's JustGiving page.

Want to know more about Ross' journey? Read his travel diary here:

Monday:

Travelled the journey across to Sheringham using a van to transport bikes across to Norwich and taking a train to Sheringham.

Tuesday:

Sent off on our way by the Mayor of Sheringham, David Gooch, Dave Hagan from the RNLI, supporters and those who knew Mike who came along to cheer. After a flying start we had a couple of short stops at Baconsthorpe Castle and at the steam railway at Reepham. The last 15 miles saw torrential rain and soaked us through. We spent at least 2 hours in Norwich washing/drying kit and cleaning mud and grit from our bikes.

Wednesday:

Wednesday saw our longest day of cycling. Exactly 80 miles from Norwich to Cambridge. Although the weather had slightly improved, we faced light rain for almost all the day. With the weather as it was we pushed on in the morning, not properly stopping until Brandon 33 miles in for lunch. With some heavy winds and tired legs we finally made it to our air b'n'b in Cambridge for 18:00pm.

Thursday:

Thursday was the toughest day for fatigue and aches but there were some nice highlights to the day. A 10 mile cycle path bringing you in alongside the river at Bedford was one of my favourite parts of the route. Northamptonshire offered more hills and on the last one of the day, 4 miles from our end point of Northampton, my chain came off and lodged in against the wheel and buckled it slightly. Luckily a quick trip to the nearest repair shop in the town fixed the wheel at 17:30pm. Our hosts took us to a folk night after dinner where a few beers were consumed and a number of generous donations were given to us by the locals through the evening who all agreed that it is community spirit that makes our country great.

Friday:

With the end in sight we left Northampton for what was another 60 mile ride. With home and The Fleece Inn firmly in our minds we did the first 30 miles at a very good pace with maximum motivation. We then had the challenge of the tallest hill in Northampton to climb but followed it with the treat of lunch in Avon Dassett. From there we could see the Cotswolds and home. We pulled into Bretforton about 5.30pm and had a well earned drink in The Fleece with family and friends and toasted Mike!

Legs, feet and bum all feel surprisingly good and £675 raised, along with the glasses, in Mike's memory.