The Mayor of Bolton has praised a cyclist raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Linda Thomas has applauded Minesh Patel for his ambitious fundraising challenge, made even more impressive as he has suffered from ill health recently

Minesh is cycling 250km throughout August and so far he has raised over £1,500 for the cancer charity.

If covering that distance wasn't enough, he has also recently recovered from a respiratory illness.

He selected the charity as he felt they had been overlooked during the coronavirus crisis.

The Mayor said: "This is an incredible feat as Minesh has been ill for several months with a respiratory illness and so deserves real credit for adopting the challenge.

"He is a community champion and role model and regularly helps others.

"Minesh is one of the many selfless Bolton people that go that extra mile, literally in this case, to help others and deserves our unreserved thanks and praise.Well done Minesh"

Revealing the reasons behind his challenge on his Just Giving page, Minesh said: "Having experienced four difficult months of health conditions, including respiratory, I am thankful to all the support I have received on my road to recovery.

"I feel many sacrifices have been made recently due to covid, and unfortunately many cancer patients have had to take a back seat, that we must not forget."