In light of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) 200^th birthday, Teddington local Paul Roach, 65, is cycling 200km to raise money for the charity – 200km for 200 years.

Roach has volunteered for the RNLI's Teddington Lifeboat Station since 2016.

He told Teddington Nub News that he has "always had some sort of interest in the water" and has "done most water sports".

He found out about RNLI's Teddington Lifeboat volunteering scheme after meeting one of the crew members on a dog walk, so he decided to become a volunteer.

The cycle was supposed to happen tomorrow, 24 August, but due to expected bad weather, Roach has decided to instead do his ride on Sunday, 25 August.

He will cycle from Teddington to Hampton via Richmond, doing nine laps.

He will do the first three laps and then stop for some water and lunch before finishing the final six and ending at Teddington Lifeboat Station.

While Roach says he is not an expert cyclist, he enjoys cycling and does a lot of off-road cycling.

However, as this route is flat, he will use a road bike as it will help him cycle faster.

He said: "It's an excuse for me to get my bike back out."

Roach is not new to taking on challenges to raise money for charity.

In 2018, he did the London 100 to raise money for the Samaritans.

Speaking about why he wants to raise money for RNLI, Roach said: "Life boating is expensive, so anything I can do to help raise funds is great."

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and flood rescue.

Credit: Teddington RNLI

Matt Allchurch, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Teddington, said: "We applaud Paul for his fundraising efforts.

"Our lifesaving service depends on the kindness of our supporters - 94% of our total income comes from donations and without this kind of support we could not continue to save lives at sea and on the River Thames."

Find out you can support Roach and donate here.