A DOWNTON man is setting off for Paris on Wednesday on the final leg of a fundraising campaign for the doctors who saved his life.

Four years ago Chris West was near death, trapped in a crashed car with appalling injuries. A volunteer BASICS Hampshire doctor – a consultant emergency doctor at Odstock trained in pre-hospital critical care – was asked by paramedics on the scene to respond.

Dr Sarah Assheton, who was then on maternity leave, drove from her home in Ringwood immediately and was able to keep Mr West alive until he reached hospital in Southampton, where he went straight into surgery.

Mr West has been cycling hundreds of miles on a static bike over the last few weeks and on Wednesday he will be cycling through Hampshire to the Portsmouth ferry and then on to Paris to raise funds for BASICS Hampshire.

Go to www.whohcycling.co.uk to find out more.