AN 11-year-old boy is celebrating after cycling the length of Britain to raise money for sick children across Scotland.
Patrick Kiehlmann, from Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire, suffered life-threatening complications two years ago while being treated for a ruptured appendix at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow.
After seven days of recovery he was taken back to hospital when his condition deteriorated rapidly overnight. He had a constricted bowel and was back in the operating theatre that night.
The staff at Yorkhill helped save his life, and in a bid to thank them and as an extremely keen cyclist, Patrick decided to pedal all the way from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money to help other children receiving treatment at the hospital.
He set off from Land's End on his 11-day journey on October 9 and arrived in atrocious conditions at John O'Groats at the end of an 1,011-mile ride yesterday.
"Done, just a little wet," he wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Patrick and his father Mark planned to cycle 90 miles each day. They stopped off at Yorkhill last week as part of the ride.
Kirsten Sinclair, head of fundraising at Yorkhill Children's Charity, said: "It's absolutely incredible, it's such a mammoth challenge for anyone to complete, let alone an 11-year-old.
"Seeing kids help other kids is really incredible."
Patrick was earlier pictured cycling into Caithness from Sutherland and tweeted that he was "shattered", with 30 miles to go.
The 11-year-old has always been a keen cyclist. Aged five he completed the Pedal for Scotland challenge from Glasgow to Edinburgh, covering 50 miles in about five hours.
He has raised more than £2,200.To support Patrick's cause, visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/ride4recoveryuk
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