Teacher spends one year cycling around the world

A secondary school teacher from Kent has spent exactly a year so far on an 18,000-mile (28,968 km) charity cycle around the world.

Jacob Zintel-Warner, from Folkestone, has raised almost £4,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital from his challenge.

He set off from the children's hospital in London on 8 April 2024 and hopes to arrive back there by August.

Mr Zintel-Warner described his trek as "challenging" but said he was motivated to raise funds for "an amazing cause".

He resigned from his job as a history teacher at Brockhill Park Performing Arts College near Hythe.

Mr Zintel-Warner says a job is waiting for him upon his return to the UK.

He is currently cycling in Australia, on his way to Sydney.

He said: "Some of the things I thought would be difficult weren't necessarily as bad as I thought they would be - spending long days on the bike.

"Things that I wasn't prepared for I found a lot harder - the solitude at points and dealing with logistics when things go wrong with your bike."

He has so far travelled more than 12,000 miles (19,312km), through 24 countries in 365 days.

Apart from the occasional flight over seas and oceans, Mr Zintel-Warner said he had cycled everywhere.

He hopes to raise £10,000 by the time he finishes the challenge.

"I chose to raise money for Great Ormond Street partly because back home I taught one student who often frequented the hospital for treatment," he said.

"It's an amazing cause that really helps children live more of a comfortable life and gives them some really promising prospects in the future."

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