A mum whose memory and eyesight was severely damaged after a horrific cycling accident, is fundraising for the charity which helped transform her life, by pedalling 1,400 miles with her husband on a tandem bike.

Over 20 days in August, Kate Bosley, 57, from Maidstone, intends to cycle from John O'Groats to Land's End and then to Margate, finishing at the headquarters of the Kent Association for the Blind, which supported Kate after a she came off her bike during a holiday in Tenerife seven years ago.

Before the accident, the mum-of-four was chief executive of Heart of Kent Hospice, in Aylesford, and a medal-winning amateur road cyclist.

She still doesn't remember the accident or the holiday, but her husband, John told her about the aftermath.

"Apparently there was a terrible crash and people looked around and I was on the floor," she said.

She lay unconscious for weeks on a ventilator and spent six months in hospital.

She suffered a major head injury which caused memory loss and recovery was slow.

"I didn't even know who my children were. My husband says I thought I was 21-years-old.

"For the first few years I couldn't read a book because my brain was so damaged I couldn't remember what I had read yesterday. It was extremely difficult for my children to come to terms with what had happened," Kate said.

Her memory slowly returned, but is still damaged.

While coming to terms with her injury, Kate realised she kept walking into things on her right side, and a couple of times nearly got run over by cars she hadn't seen.

It turned out the accident had affected her visual field and she now had a 'blind spot'.

She made an initial phone call to Kent Association for the Blind and within days they visited Kate.

"They supported me to understand the implications of my disability, advised me on the support available and trained me in how to walk safely with a long cane," she said.

A tool to help her reading was also provided and she joined an art group run by the charity, eventually becoming a volunteer trustee.

Despite the accident, Kate's passion for cycling never diminished and as soon as possible, she was back on the bike, this time cycling in tandem with John.

"Because I know about charity fundraising I have always wanted to thank them and make a difference. I don't know what I would have done without them," she said.

Training every day, the couple aren't nervous about the challenge itself, but rather whether the 21 bed and breakfasts they have booked will be open because of coronavirus.

They are hopeful, however. "It might not be open, we won't know that until nearer the time. I think it will still go ahead this year," Kate said.

To support John and Kate, click here.

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