A Harrogate man who moved to Thailand has raised nearly £14,000 cycling across the country to aid a struggling elephant home.

Bruce Haxton was born and raised in Harrogate and attended Harrogate Grammar School. He moved to Thailand to run the Tuk Tuk Club adventure travel company eight years ago.

When his business was halted due to the pandemic, he dedicated his time to raising money for a home of elephants he has worked closely with.

Maevang Elephant Home in Mae Wang has been struggling to maintain its eight elephants with no visitors during the pandemic so Bruce set out to raise £16,000 for the home by cycling across Thailand.

He finished his 2,300km journey this month after riding for 18 days in total.

His journey took him through 22 provinces and back, through mountain ranges and rice fields in temperatures of up to 45 degrees celsius.

He also undertook absolutely no training prior to setting off, making his journey even more challenging.

Bruce flying the Harrogate flag in Thailand.

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He was assisted by his friend Mr Noom who runs the elephant home and followed him on his journey in a tuk tuk full of supplies.

So far he is just £2,300 off his fundraising goal, and is still taking donations on his JustGiving page.

Bruce said that his family and friends in Harrogate have continuously supported him and donated from home. He also spoke about what the elephant home means to him;

“I’ve known this group of elephants and the team who look after them ever since we moved to Thailand and have become very attached to them, both the elephants who are just such majestic animals with such distinct personalities and also the team living with and looking after them.

“They are such fantastic, down to earth, hard working people with great love for their elephants being incredibly stoic in their suffering during the economic devastation that covid is having here in Thailand.”

If raised, the £16,000 total will be enough to sustain the elephants and the families looking after them for 3 months.

A cyclist from Harrogate is preparing to embark on a mammoth challenge this month to raise money in memory of his aunt.

Simon Gregory will attempt to cycle 288 miles in just 24 hours to raise £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Simon’s aunt, Reverend Ruth Scott, died from cancer in February 2019.

She was a presenter on the BBC Radio 2 show Pause for Thought, along with Terry Wogan and Chris Evans for 25 years, and was one of the first female vicars.

Simon said he was inspired by his aunt’s charitable nature and her similar physical challenges; she once cycled from Rome to Jerusalem with little training.

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Last weekend Simon held a fundraiser in Harrogate and raised nearly £1,000 in one day.

He said of the money raised;

“It would cover specialist care nurses, and support for others whose loved ones have cancer. Macmillan provided my aunt and her husband huge support and we couldn’t have got through it without them.”

Macmillan’s funding has been cut drastically over the course of the pandemic, receiving £10 million less over the past year than in previous years.

His journey is mapped out from Harrogate to Southampton on June 18.  Besides his brother Paul, who plans to meet him at regular checkpoints, he will make the journey on his own.

Simon will have to cycle an average of almost 12.5 miles an hour for 24 hours to hit his target.

He has several strategies in place to ensure safety during his journey, including regular 10-minute intervals for drinking and a strict rule of consuming 75 grams of carbohydrates every hour.

Donations to Simon Gregory’s fundraiser can be made by clicking here.