PENSIONER Maurice Willsher used pedal power to take part in a charity challenge of a lifetime in Spain.

Seventy-four-year-old Maurice had originally planned to take part in a cycle challenge in India but it was cancelled after the terrorist attack in America on September 11.

But determined Maurice took to his bike, along with his cycling and fundraising partner, David Albin, 32, who lives in Sutton Poyntz, and raised nearly £6,000 for the children's leukaemia and cancer charity Clic when they rode in a replacement challenge in Spain.

The challenge took Dorchester-based Maurice and David, along with 53 other riders including Formula One boss Eddie Jordan, of Jordan Cars, on a route from Granada through Loja, Lucena, Cordoba, Palma-del-Rio to Seville - a total of 387km.

Maurice said: "The Spanish challenge was shorter than the Indian ride but this one was far, far more physically demanding.

"The first three days there was nothing but hills, with at least two to climb every day, which seemed to go upwards forever.

"And the temperature was in the high 70s every day with not a breath of air until the last day when there was torrential rain.

"It was a very difficult challenge and the hardest part was definitely the hills."

But Maurice, who cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats and back again in 1994, said that every difficult hill was worth the climb so that he could raise as much money as possible for CLIC.

He said: "It is such an important charity. Cancer in adults is bad enough but it always seems worse in children.

"One of the cyclists on the trip had a young daughter who is only about five years old and she has cancer of the eyes."

David, a father-of-three and an electrician, had never taken part in a charity cycling challenge before he travelled over to Spain.

He said: "It was a really tough ride, very hilly and I found it very hard when it was pouring with rain.

"But the group morale was very high all the way through and it was definitely a worthwhile challenge.

"I found the fundraising part hard, but altogether the group raised almost £250,000.

"Quite a lot of that was raised by Eddie Jordan and his group but everyone did really well and it is a great total."

He added: "I would like to do something like this again as there are so many ill children who need our help."