A couple of fundraisers are getting on their bikes to raise money for an Ilkley boy with cerebral palsy to go to America for a life-changing operation.

The family of Ben Smithson are trying to raise £45,000 by next year to send the eight-year-old across the Atlantic for pioneering surgery, which should ultimately help him to walk unaided.

A raft of events is taking place to help the campaign, Ben’s Wish To Walk, raise the money for the treatment. So far more than £5,000 has been collected.

Nigel Ezard and John Thompson are trying to assist those money-making efforts by taking on separate cycling challenges.

Mr Ezard, of Ben Rhydding, will be heading to France to take part in the Etape du Tour on Sunday.

The tour is a mass participation event, which allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage, normally on a Tour rest day. Mr Ezard, 39, a teaching assistant at Ashlands Primary School, Ilkley, said: “I only took up road cycling last year and so this is a big ask for such a novice.

“But I’ve put in the training.”

Meanwhile, Mr Thompson, who spent more than 25 years as head of economics and business studies at Ilkley Grammar School, is preparing for a 70-mile ride to coincide with his 70th birthday.

The pensioner will ride from his home in Addingham to see family in Teesside on September 6 to raise funds.

Elsewhere, there will be a Bands Day at the Station pub in the centre of Ilkley on July 31 to raise money for the campaign.

To sponsor Mr Ezard, e-mail nigel.ezard@blueyonder.co.uk or donate directly at the website at benswishtowalk.co.uk.