A PLASTERER is planning to cycle almost 1,000 miles to raise cash for research into an incurable disease that killed his father.

Mark Green’s father Christopher, 59, died on May 25, just weeks after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Now Mr Green, 33, plans to cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End next month to raise awareness of the disease.

Father-of-two Mr Green, of Hanwell Fields, Banbury, said: “Dad was having chest problems and didn’t go to the doctor.

“Eventually mum made him go and he found out he had pancreatic cancer – and there was no cure. He was given six to eight months.”

Mr Green said his father had suffered internal bleeding then deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), and died nine weeks after the diagnosis.

Mr Green, who lives with wife Michelle and children Chloe, 11, and Cameron, two, said his father was moved to a hospice in Worcester where the family kept a bedside vigil.

He said: “It’s the least researched cancer and no cure has been found. There are very few signs to indicate you have it, so it’s too late once you find out.”

Now Mr Green is determined to raise awareness of the disease and aims to raise £6,000 to fund research.

With friend Ian McLennan, also from Banbury, he has plotted a 973-mile route, which they aim to complete in less than 10 days.

Mr McLennan, who recently completed a 56-mile run in South Africa, plans to raise cash for Adderbury’s Katharine House hospice.

Mr Green said: “It’s only 10 days out of my life and even if I raise awareness to a few people it has done its job.”

Mr Green, a self-employed plasterer and tiler, has been spurred on to tackle the ride after losing five stones in weight since taking up cycling last year.

He now spends evenings and weekends training, and will set off on the ride in August.

To sponsor the pair, go to Mr Green's page on the Justgiving website.

For information, see the Pancreatic Cancer UK website