A pharmacist has raised more than £500 for the King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity with a 310-mile cycle ride.

Dinesh Gupta, who works in a children’s ward in Queen’s Hospital, Romford, joined the London to Paris ride earlier this year.

The money will be used to buy arts and crafts materials, bravery stickers and toys to keep sick and injured children entertained at the King George, in Barley Lane, Goodmayes, and Queen’s, Romford.

The long journey took Dinesh four days to complete.

He said: “Some of the journey was really tough, but the thought that I could help the staff entertain our young patients kept me going.

“I see the teams do a great job every day, caring for sick children, some with life-limiting illness.

“I see first-hand the dedication and professionalism of all the nursing, medical and other support staff. I wanted to help them, so decided to do the bike ride to raise money which could be used to buy activities for the children.”

Dinesh urged people to donate to the local hospitals as well as larger national charities for items that can make a “huge difference” to patients.