A West Oxfordshire man is planning to cycle 1,200 miles on his own after the death of his close friend and work colleague.

Iain Forbes, of Poffley End, near Witney, dreamed up the biking marathon with Swedish-born Harald Berg to raise money for cancer research charities.

But Mr Berg, who was 44, died last week from complications resulting from stomach cancer and his funeral is to be held on Monday at All Saints Church, in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Just four days later, 64-year-old Mr Forbes will be getting on his bike to start the long pedal from his friend's home city of Gothenburg, in Sweden, through northern Europe, back to his home village.

Mr Forbes said: "Harald was a very brave man. I've known him for 11 years, he was a great man to work with and a good friend.

"We knew he had cancer and that gave us the idea of the bike ride to raise money for cancer charities. It was to give him something to focus on during treatment.

"It makes me more determined to go ahead. I'm in good shape, doing over 40 miles a day in training now."

Mr Forbes aims to raise £100,000 for charities across the UK and Europe. He will be cycling through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium and France, accompanied by two camper vans.

He works for Quadriga, a major provider of Internet and entertainment services for the hotel industry which has UK offices near Reading. Quadriga European employees will be joining him for short relay bike rides .

During the ride, Mr Forbes will celebrate his 65th birthday on May 17, the day of his official retirement.

The marathon has been named the HI Ride and anyone who wants to support him through sponsorship can do so via the websites hirideforcancer.com and justgiving.com/hirideforcancer