Daring fundraisers return for most extreme challenge yet

A team of Black Country friends are taking on their most extreme challenge to date in a bid to raise tens of thousands to fund care for people living with terminal illnesses.

Brendon Turner (43) will lead a 23-strong team as they cycle hundreds of miles and scale 3 mountains in just 48 hours over the weekend of 24^th-25^th July, all to raise funds for Wolverhampton-based charity Compton Care.   

The ‘Lakes and Peaks’ challenge which will see the group cycle 220 miles from the Lake District back to Wolverhampton, with a 26-mile hike across the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in between.

The gruelling event is the fourth challenge organised by Mr Turner who set up the ‘Lord Bilston Big Challenge’ series in a bid to raise funds for the hospice which cared for his father, Lord Bilston Dennis Turner, after his cancer diagnosis. The former Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East died aged 71 in February 2014.

Mr Turner is now hoping the public will get behind the fundraisers in their bid to reach their £25,000 target, an amount which would fund the equivalent of 88 visits by Compton specialist nurses to patients in their own homes.

Mr Turner commented, “There aren’t enough words to express how grateful we are to Compton for the care and dedication they showed, not only to my dad but the whole family. No wage or salary would have been enough to repay the love and affection shown by the nurses from Compton Care.

“I am just keeping my dad’s memory alive in a positive way, while at the same time helping out a really caring and important charity.

“The pandemic meant we couldn’t put on a challenge last year and all of the team know it was a really tough year financially for Compton. We’re more determined than ever to smash our target, and we’d really love it if the public could get behind us!”

Kate Kelly, Community & Events Manager for Compton Care, added, “Brendon and the rest of the Lord Bilston Big Challenge team are inspirational. They have been fantastic supporters of Compton Care for many years, always pushing themselves to the limit to help raise essential funds so we can continue to deliver extraordinary care for local people living with incurable illnesses. This year their challenge has stepped up a notch and is certainly not for the faint-hearted. All of us are so extremely grateful for everything they do for us.

“We simply couldn’t provide care for the patients and families we support if it weren’t for people like Brendon who help to raise the millions we need every year to keep our services running.

“Like most charities, 2020 was a tough year for Compton with the closure of our charity shops and the cancellation of the majority of our fundraising events. Now more than ever we need the support of the public so that we can continue to be there for families that need us in years to come.”

The challenge will take place on 24^th and 25^th July. To make a donation please visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/LordBilstonBigChallenge

The challenge team consist of Brendon Turner, Andrew Tiernan, Jay Croot, Paul Fothergill, Adam Woodall, Jamie Howe, Sean Gregory, Tom Adams, Chris Lake, Simon Logan, Ian Shorthouse, Chris Wright, Jamie Wright, Shaun Delaney, Ben Wilkins, Adam Smith, Tom Dews, Rajesh Brigue, Dave Walters, Rich Whitehouse, Stu Banbury, Marc Hughes and Michael Quick.

The riders and hikers will be supported by a support team of Mike Howe, Jay Morgan, Dave Percival, Gary Ruby, Steven Dicken, Phil Dicken, Matt Dicken, John Garbett, Steven Elliott, Alan Croot and Lyn Croot.