A Bolton resident is undertaking a gruelling 40 mile bike ride in memory of his late grandfather and ‘local legend’ Phillip McNamara.

Aidan McNamara, 27, who now lives in Australia, will be cycling from Little Lever in Bolton, all the way to Blackpool, accompanied by his brother Kieran, sister Shona and several close friends of his and his

grandad’s.

The epic ride today will be to raise money for The Christie Hospital, who cared for Phillip throughout his treatment and in his final days.

Philip died on March 4 at the age of 70

He lost his short battle with cancer recently.

Philip's family say he was just a very big local personality around Little Lever where he lived, everyone knew him he had the time of day for everyone.

He was part of the darts team at the Queen Ann’s pub in Little Lever.

Aidan, who works in road construction in Sydney, said: “The idea started with my friend Ryan and myself chatting about my grandfather and we got onto wanting to raise money to support Christie’s, so he

suggested setting up the event.”

“Grandad wasn’t just a grandfather to us he was a grandfather to all my friends growing up, so many of them want to raise money in his honour.”

The crew of family members and friends will depart at 9am from Philip’s old home in Little Lever before travelling through Bolton town centre, and making their way through Horwich, Chorley, Preston, and Kirkham before finally arriving in Blackpool.

The journey will cover a distance of approximately 40 miles and take roughly three to four hours.

“To be honest we chose to do a bike ride because none of us are in the greatest shape to complete a run,” Aidan admitted, “But that’s why we wanted to do it- go out of our comfort zone for a great cause.

“There’s going to be a few sore legs in Blackpool once we arrive but everyone’s going to give it 110 per cent for my grandad and Christie’s!”

The event has already raised £782 all proceeds will go to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Aidan explained: “My grandad couldn’t speak highly enough of the fantastic work Christie’s does and how comfortable they make everyone feel.

“Christie’s are the best at what they do and it’s because of the admiration my grandad had for them that we wanted to raise money to support their hard work.

The family and friends have also been fundraising through organising other events in the local community.

Aidan said: “Ryan and his family have been fantastic, his mum Cathy has organised a raffle at her hairdressing shop and Ryan organised fundraising tubs in local pubs and the Tesco in Little Lever.

“My grandfather was our best friend, he was always full of joy and laughter.

"He had so much time for us, doing all sorts from playing darts/pool, fishing, bike rides, to watching United and going on holidays with us.

"All he cared about was seeing his family smile and be happy.

"He was definitely our anchor, always offering a helping hand or a kind word and he will be deeply missed.”

To donate visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/bolton-to-blackpool-bike-ride-in-memory-of-phil

So, Phillip died on the 4th of March this year of lung cancer, he was 70. Aidan, his grandson who I spoke to, lived with him from the age of 12 to 24 and was basically raised by him so he very much saw him as a father. He was just a very big local personality around little Lever where he lived, everyone knew him he had the time of day for everyone.

He was part of the darts team at the Queen Ann’s pub in little Lever. He was a massive man united fan and used to get tickets for matches for a lot of Aidan’s friends and local lads who wanted to go so he was very caring.