A TROWBRIDGE vicar has completed a challenge, cycling through the battlefields of the First World War and raising money for Help for Heroes, inspired by the fact that her grandfather fought at the Battle of the Somme a century ago.

The Rev Selina Deacon, who has been the vicar at St John’s, Upper Studley, since 2007, spent a year training for the Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2016, joining 250 other fundraisers.

Starting off in Ypres, Belgium, and ending the ride in Verdun, France, Mrs Deacon said the five-day ride was one of the most rewarding experiences she has ever had.

“This was the tenth ride they have done through various routes through the battlefields. As it was also my brother’s tenth ride, he was very inspiring for me to get involved,” the 64-year-old added.

“The toughest bit was the training and fundraising for the ride as I had to fit it in with everything else.

“The whole ride was extraordinary because I was cycling alongside people who had been badly injured and there was someone cycling with one leg and another with just one arm. Seeing that was so inspiring and it was an enormous privilege.”

Mrs Deacon’s father Alexander Trousdell served in the Irish Regiment while her grandfather fought at the Somme in 1916, which also helped inspire her to take on the challenge this year.

Mrs Deacon added: “Help for Heroes is an amazing charity and they help a lot of people with the stresses of serving and the mental effects of war. People have been very generous. I have many friends with army connections who have donated to the cause and I managed to raise £3,800 in total.

“The church have been wonderful and very supportive. They sent me away with prayers and lit a candle at the church for the time I was away.”