A TEAM of postmen have delivered a boost to a colleague who has been diagnosed with cancer by completing a 100km cycle.

Nick Taylor, from Martinscroft, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour earlier this year.

Now the 48-year-old’s colleagues at the Royal Mail Delivery Office on Milner Street have completed a 62-mile bike ride in order to raise funds for the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and the Walton Centre, where Nick has been receiving his treatment.

Postie Simon Spruce said: “I used to go to school with Nick, so I’ve known him since I was about 10 or 11, and I’ve been with him for 17 years at the Royal Mail.

“It came out of the blue for him – he was just out doing his deliveries when he started not feeling well.

“He went to hospital and had a brain scan, and they found the tumour.

“We were all really shocked when we found out and obviously everyone at work has missed him.”

In total, 13 postmen and their mechanic David Checketts took part in the 100km cycle from Warrington to Chester, via a route that also took in Liverpool and the Wirral coastline.

Their ride was disrupted by high winds which prevented them from taking the ferry from Liverpool to Birkenhead – forcing them to take the train across the Mersey instead – while a bridge in Wirral was also shut due to roadworks, adding miles to the journey.

A tyre puncture near to Little Neston also delayed the group but Nick, who covers the south of the town on his mail rounds, was waiting for his fellow posties at the finishing line at the Architect pub near to Chester Racecourse.

The cycle has helped to raise hundreds of pounds for the two treatment centres.

Nick’s co-workers at the branch have also rallied to help their fellow postman by using their days off to drive him to and from the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Birkenhead for treatment.

Simon, who came up with the idea for the cycle along with colleagues Jay Lockett and Lee Armstrong, added: “The response to the fundraising has been brilliant.

“For six weeks, Nick had to go to Clatterbridge five days a week for radiotherapy – a lot of us posties offered to take him thereon our days off to take a bit of pressure off his wife, because he’s not allowed to drive.

“The treatment he has received has been brilliant and he’s quite upbeat at the moment.

“Nick is a well-liked lad and that’s why the response has been great.”

To donate click here.