A MOTORCYCLIST taking on a fund-raising trip has been given a surprise donation by a former colleague who read the story in the Derby Telegraph.

Kathie White is due to set off on a 1,800-mile fund-raising bike tour of the UK tomorrow in a bid to raise £800 in sponsorship for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance and the International Spinal Research Trust.

A report on her plans in the Telegraph last month led to the mental health nurse having a surprise visit from social worker Steve Brown, of Swadlincote.

Kathie, 45, said he arrived unexpectedly at her house in Blackden Close, Belper.

She said: "I sold a motorbike to him about four years ago when we used to work together in South Derbyshire for the county's mental health trust.

"We lost touch and then he turned up on my doorstep and gave me a £100 donation."

Kathie will travel from Derbyshire to Wales, south to Cornwall, east to Lincolnshire, north to Edinburgh and then home via the Lake District.

She said: "I'm a bit anxious because the weather forecast for Wales is heavy winds, driving rains and thunder."

She is scheduled to return on Saturday, July 18.

To sponsor Kathie, visit www.justgiving.com/kathie white1.