Malmesbury cyclist Ed Cox is celebrating after completing his epic 14,000-mile bicycle journey from Bristol, UK, to Brisbane, Autstralia.

Mr Cox spent the last nine months riding through France, Germany, Switzer- land, Greece, Azerbaijan, Iran, Dubai, India, Singapore, Indonesia and finally Australia to complete his £10,000 bike ride in aid of Alzheimer’s Society in memory of his grandmother.

Mr Cox, whose family previously lived in Kington Langley, near Chippenham, before moving to Malmesbury, said he will live in Australia for six months with his girlfriend Lavinia before returning home to start a ‘proper job’, although an around-the-world ride from coast to coast in America is still on the cards.

“It all started when I read a book by Dervla Murphy, Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle – a story of her ride from Dublin to India, a truly epic tale and one that made me think that there is a big old world waiting out there,” he said.

“This fuelled my love for cycling so after a fair amount of planning it was time to quit the job, pack my things up and go see the world.

“During the whole planning stage my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, so having seen all the care that goes in to looking after her I thought it would be great to double my trip up with the UK Alzheimer’s Society and raise money as well as awareness.”

Despite his excitement, Mr Cox admitted it was a difficult decision to begin with.

“I had a great job, great girlfriend, family and was very happy, so to give it all up and head out in to the unknown mentally was pretty tough... there were head winds to deal with; a lot of curse words were used.”

Among his favourite destinations were Greece, for ‘its history and welcoming people’; Georgia, with its ‘stunning countryside and mountain ranges’ and Iran.

On Iran he said: “I have never felt safer in a country, locals would not let us pay for anything, as we were a guest in their country.

Mr Cox has so far raised £9,200 for charity and still hopes to hit his £10,000 target.