Tony Hopper's campaign to help others affected by motor neurone disease was a cause particularly close to home for Sharon Dickson.

So Sharon - a childminder who looks after the Hoppers' sons - got on her bike and pedalled 140 miles to further boost their charity efforts.

Sharon, husband Gavin, 14-year-old son Harry, and Gavin's cousins Graham Kidd and James Martin all tackled the Coast to Coast cycle route.

They raised £815 for the Hoppers' Fightback Fund for the Motor Neurone Disease Association's North and West Cumbria group.

Sharon said they wanted to help the "amazing" work the MND Association do to help those affected by the debilitating illness - and show their support to the Hoppers.

"We have known Tony, Sue and the family for the last three to four years and as a childminder I have looked after their children for some time," Sharon, 45, said.

"In terms of a challenge we wanted to do something that other parents could also contribute to and as a way that we could show our support.

"So we got together and decided to do the Coast to Coast - we did quite a bit of training beforehand and, on the Bank Holiday weekend in August, we did it."

It took the group three days to complete the route, starting in Whitehaven and ending in Sunderland in the north east.

"It is a challenge that Tony has done himself twice, and I'd spoken to him a few times about it," Sharon added.

"We didn't aim to do it in a particular time because we wanted to do it as a collective, so we all stayed together.

"We were really lucky that the weather was perfect - not too hot and it didn't rain.

"We had good support, with other family members coming to see us at various points, and a friend of mine was our support vehicle. My husband had got a vehicle from his work and she drove it for the whole weekend for us and supported us that way.

"On the middle day we were going up Hartside Pass, and further on that that it was also really hilly and hard going.

"But once we got to the top it felt like a great achievement.

"We've never done anything like it before, but we all really enjoyed it and are thinking of doing something again."

Sharon said they were pleased to raise so much money for the Hoppers' charity cause.

"We are all feeling it for them, so it is nice to do something to help," she added.

"I know lots of other people who are doing similar things and it is just about showing support and doing something positive."

Former Carlisle United and Workington Reds footballer Tony's Fightback Fund has raised more than £34,000 having been started in March, two months after he was diagnosed with bulbar-onset MND.

All the money raised will be used by the MND Association in the CA postcode area.

It goes towards things like grants for chairs, beds, stairlifts and other equipment, white goods for the home, short breaks, visits from trained professionals and other assistance that would normally be a drain on family finances. The group also hosts support meetings and organises and attends fundraising events.

To donate to the Hoppers' Fightback Fund, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tony-hopper

If you are organising an event or a challenge to help the Hoppers' campaign, let us know by emailing jon.colman@cnmedia.co.uk