THE family of a Yate man who raised thousands of pounds for brain tumour research have thanked cyclists who got on their bikes in his memory.

Ian Meek was 42 when he died in 2012, having being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour in 1994.

He continued to fund raise, despite undergoing a series of major operations and eventually being told the tumour had become malignant.

Now his parents, Pauline and Brian, who live in Pitchcombe, Yate, and his brother, Philip, have taken up the fund raising baton and organised a bike ride through the Cotswolds in aid of both the charity Brain Tumour Research and St Rose's School in Stroud.

Money is still coming in so they won't know how much was raised for a few weeks.

But they said: "Can we say a huge thank you to the cyclists and everyone else involved in the South Gloucestershire bike ride in memory of our son Ian.

"This will become an annual event In his memory."

Brian Meek said a date had already been set for the next ride - September 25, 2015 - and more details would be released nearer the time.

Ian, who had moved from Yate to Yorkshire, was first diagnosed after suffering a fit on the way home from a football match.

The father-of-three set up Meeks Feats as a fund raising challenge, collecting more than £110,000 and also funding a research student at Leeds University for three years.

His condition resulted in hearing and sight problems but the former Rodford Primary School and King Edmund Community School (now Yate International Academy) student still completed the Three Peaks challenge as well as a 200-mile bike ride from Bristol to Yorkshire. He also proudly carried the Olympic torch through York just months before he died.

The South Gloucestershire cycle ride, called Meeks Feats 100, started and ended at Yate Outdoor Sports Centre, with riders

choosing between a 100-mile route and a 100km journey around the Cotswolds.

Mr and Mrs Meek said donations could still be accepted through www.justgiving.com/rememberianmeek