A father from Chatham who raised £56,000 in memory of his daughter has set himself another challenge.

Matt Loughrey, 44, of St Mary’s Island, cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats last year to raise money for the cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

The 10-day ride began on what would have been his daughter’s 23rd birthday, June 2. Emily Rose lost her battle with cancer in 2007. The journey ended on June 10, the first anniversary of her death.

Matt, along with Emily’s younger sister Jessica and a team of friends, cycled an average of 100 miles a day.

The ride was the flagship event in a year-long campaign to raise cash for the charity which helped Emily so much during her final months.

At the end of the Embo appeal last year, Matt, and Emily’s mother Caroline, vowed that it was the end of a chapter, not the end of the book.

Matt said: “There will always be fund-raising within the Loughrey family.

“I know that each year when it comes to the days between Emily’s birthday and the date she died, I do not want to be sat behind a desk at work. The bike rides give me something to focus on, a way of using the pain and channelling it into something good.”

This year, Matt and three friends will be cycling more than 1,300 miles from Chatham to Gibraltar.

The ride will be completed in just 10 days - the same dates as last year’s UK bike ride.

The gruelling journey will see Matt and his team cycle up to 160 miles a day through mainland Europe which takes in the Pyrenees on route to Gibraltar.

Matt, a former Royal Engineer, said: “I chose the destination because there is a huge affiliation between Chatham and Gibraltar through Chatham Dockyard and the Navy.

To sponsor Matt, visit www.justgiving.com/mattloughrey