by Dan Bloom

dbloom@thekmgroup.co.uk

After nine-and-a-half months being shot at, robbed and attacked, Biddenden biker Spencer Conway has finally returned from his circumnavigation of Africa.

The former teacher, 42, of Tenterden Road, led a 50-strong convoy of biker fans along the A28 from Ashford to Biddenden on Sunday .

Crowds cheered the as he rode into the village to be met by his parents and daughters Faeya, 13, and Jez, 15.

Since leaving in November he has covered 37,000 miles through 34 countries and raised £25,000 for Save the Children.

He told the Kentish Express: "All the bikers revved up their bikes and hooted their horns and everyone was screaming and shouting.

"I feel fantastic, I feel relieved, but at the same time I feel a little bit lost.

"It was very emotional but I tried to put on the hardcore biker image. Over the last 10 months my children have grown considerably and changed a great deal.

"I hope they're proud of me. It's been a big burden for the family too; after the shooting my daughter found out when a friend of hers brought a newspaper into school and said, 'Your dad's been shot'."

The biker said it would be hard to get used to daily life.

"You set up little routines," he said. "My best day was 750 miles, but on my worst day, in the Congo, the road fell apart completely and I did 11 miles in 11 hours."

But despite facing jungles and gangsters, the closest the adventurer came to death was not in the Congo - it was in a Toulouse campsite.

"I arrived in France and a wasp stung me through my boot," he said.

"Unfortunately I'm allergic - so much so that I die. So I had to inject myself in the leg with an EpiPen and I rode the last 1,500 miles with one boot on.

"On the other I just had a sock and flip flops, so that was quite hilarious.

Mr Conway is now writing a book and producing a DVD of his experiences, and he won't be returning to the day job any time soon.

"This is my job now," he said. "I'm an adventure motorcyclist, so I'll be going round America and Europe giving talks.

"It sounds envious but it's difficult. I never thought it'd be as difficult as it turned out. I feel very, very privileged to have done it."