How six-year-old Northumberland charity cyclist has become a celebrity

Ru Marley celebrates after cycling 100 miles for charity.

A six-year-old charity cyclist has taken on celebrity status with wellwishers stopping him to thank him for his efforts and to give him more money.

The Northumberland Gazette last month told how Ru Marley was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore’s 100th birthday challenge to raise money for the health service.

After quickly smashing his target of raising £50 by cycling 50 miles with his parents, the Longhoughton Primary School pupil decided to continue his quest by doubling the distance and has now received more than £1,400 in donations after completing his 100-mile quest.

The total has been boosted recently by people who have recognised him after reading our initial story.

Six-year-old Ru Marley set up his own cycling challenge to raise funds for North East Ambulance Service's charity.

Dad Tim, 36, who is air and space operations manager at RAF Boulmer, said: “He has been stopped on the road by people who recognise him after reading the first story in the Gazette.

“They will either give him money or ask him to stop outside their home when he is next passing.

“Everyone has been very generous and Ru is busy writing a thank you message at the moment.”

Ru decided to raise money for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) after watching pictures of Captain Sir Tom supporting NHS Charities Together by walking laps of his Bedfordshire garden.

After initially setting himself a £1,000 target, Captain Sir Tom’s appeal captured the nation’s hearts and eventually raised nearly £33m.

Ru, his dad and mum Katrina Marley, 35, who have mainly cycled around the Longhoughton, Howick and Boulmer areas, chose NEAS’s Charity Fund because they have friends and neighbours who work for the service.

The fund uses donations to recruit and support its volunteers and to finance lifesaving equipment such as defibrillators.

Ru's fundraising campaign has also had a fringe benefit for him.

Tim explained: “He has managed to get a new bike out of it.

“He thought if he was going to all this trouble then he might as well have something with gears. But he deserves it.”

To help Ru's appeal reach £1,500, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ruaridhmarley

Further information about NEAS’s Charity Fund is also available at www.neas.nhs.uk/get-involved/making-a-donation.aspx

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.