Buckinghamshire nurse cycles 3,200 miles for children's hospices

A nurse has raised more than £87,000 by cycling 3,200 miles (5,150km) to visit every children's hospice in the UK.

Francesca Lennon, from Chenies in Buckinghamshire, said she wanted to be "a voice for seriously ill children and their families".

She said families were under pressure due to the cost of living crisis.

The 35-year-old dedicated the challenge to her close friend's son, Henry, who died from acute myeloid leukaemia aged nine in February.

Henry's family were among those who greeted Ms Lennon as she arrived home from the challenge on Sunday.

"It was absolutely incredible," she said.

"A group of children joined me as well cycling and skating the last 200m (656ft).

"Then there was just a massive crowd of family and friends there to greet me - it was very emotional, and just an incredible homecoming."

Ms Lennon visited 54 children's hospice in 70 days.

During the challenge, she attended a reception at Downing Street where she received a Point of Light Award, which is given to "outstanding volunteers" who make a difference in their community.

Ms Lennon dedicated the award to Henry and also founded a charity, Children's Hospice Across The UK (ChatUK) in his honour.

The paediatric nurse said visiting the hospices was "uplifting".

"I would get there at the end of a really difficult day of cycling and everyone was so supportive and so welcoming," she said.

"It is challenging times in the country, particularly with the cost of living crisis, and just being able to see the good being done every day and what people are doing to help these children and families... it's so uplifting.

"These are some of the most vulnerable children and families in society. We need to be looking at how [the cost of living crisis] impacts them and how we best support that.

"For a lot of our families themselves, a lot of their equipment runs on electricity and they can't choose to turn that off, they need it to keep their children safe."

The money raised by Ms Lennon will be donated to Together for Short Lives, a children's palliative care charity that splits funding between the UK's hospices.

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