A father from Chatham has set off on an epic bike ride from his home town to Gibraltar in memory of his daughter. Matt Loughrey, from St Mary’s Island, is cycling the 1,300 mile journey in just 10 days.

He set off today on what would have been his daughter Emily’s 24th birthday. Emily lost her battle with cancer in 2007. The bike ride will finish on the second anniversary of her death.

The Loughrey family have raised more than £60,000 for CLIC Sargent, the charity which helped them during Emily's final days and following her death.

Last year, during the same 10 days as this year’s challenge, Matt, along with his younger daughter Jessica and six friends, cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats.

This time around, Matt will be joined by three friends. The former Royal Engineer, said: “I know that each year when it comes to the days between Emily’s birthday and the date she died, I do not want to be sat behind a desk.

“The bike rides give me something to focus on, a way of using the pain and channelling it into something good.” Matt, a former Royal Engineer, said: “I chose the destination because there is a huge affiliation between Chatham and Gibraltar through Chatham Dockyard and the Navy.

The team set off from St Mary’s Island, Chatham at 6am on Tuesday to catch a ferry from Dover at 10.15am. The first stage of the bike ride will take them 143 miles to Abbeville.