Pals' 'Tour de France' for cancer victim

Gavin Sykes, aged 43, managing director of Bang & Olufsen, on Ecclesall Road, along with friends Tim Downing, 39, and Guy Mundy, 38, are planning to cycle more than 730 miles from Casino Square in Monte Carlo to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in just 10 days.

Their ride was inspired by family friend Zack Hagan, aged 11, who was diagnosed in September 2006 with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. And before they have even set out, donations worth more than 30,000 have already been made - which including shirt sponsorship from a variety of firms.

The appeal will help Ward 10, the paediatric and adolescent oncology and haematology unit, at St. James' University Hospital in Leeds, where Zack, who is from Leeds, is being treated with chemotherapy.

He has also need surgery to replace a bone in his leg and operations on his lungs.

Gavin said: "The money raised will go towards items that public money cannot stretch to, but will definitely make patients’ lives more bearable during ongoing treatment that can last for months and sometimes years."

The Back Zack cycle will starts on Sunday September 30.

See www.justgiving.com/backzack for more about the appeal.