A TEIGNMOUTH cyclist is taking on a mammoth ride to raise funds for the British Red Cross in Ukraine.

Alex Mehara, 22, will be taking the ‘scenic route’ on his way to work at Sainsburys, in Dawlish, by pedalling at least 100km before he gets to work.

And the plucky store assistant will be doing it every day, for 31 days, mostly before an eight-hour shift at the supermarket.

That’s a minimum of 3,100kms by the end of the month, which is the equivalent of cycling from his home, in Moor View Drive, all the way to Odessa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

Alex is a Ukrainian-born British citizen who first came to Devon when he was nine.

He learned to speak English at Inverteign Primary School and completed his education at Teignmouth Community College.

But he still has many relatives in the war-ravaged country, many of whom have had their lives turned upside down by Russia’s bombing campaign.

Alex said: ‘I just want to do what I can to help raise funds for the Red Cross in Ukraine.

‘They’re doing such a great job helping people who’ve had their homes destroyed or who’ve been forced to flee.’

Alex begins his month-long challenge on May 1.

He will be using an app on his phone to measure the distance travelled and will be updating his progress on his Instagram page.

Anyone who wants to support Alex’s fundraising efforts can do so at https://gofund.me/370eb681