Bury St Edmunds Treatt cyclists help raise around £20,000 in memory of a former colleague - with ride to Cullompton, Devon

Staff from a Bury St Edmunds ingredients firm have helped raise around £20,000 in memory of a former colleague - with money still coming in.

The team from Treatt were amongst nine cyclists who rode 280 miles from Bury St Edmunds to Cullompton, Devon, to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

They were raising money in memory of Steve Morrissey, a former senior sales manager for Treatt.

They were joined on the ride by Steve’s nephews Ben and Cash, sister Lizzie and brother-in-law Richard.

Steve, 50, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) at the same time as Ali Slaymaker, the mother of his 13-year-old daughter, was living with a brain tumour as a result of a previous cancer diagnosis.

Last year, the couple died just seven weeks apart.

Steve’s cancer was aggressive and he travelled from Bury to Devon with his daughter to spend the final weeks of his life surrounded by his family. Ali was just 49 when she died.

The cycle ride recreated his final journey from Bury to Devon.

“The team rode 70 miles each day between Thursday and Sunday,” said Simon Chivers, Treatt senior business development manager, who travelled with the riders in a support van.

“It all went smoothly, with no punctures, no broken bones, just a few aching legs and hips.

“Steve was the kind of person who would do anything for anyone, was a genuine guy, who loved his family. He was a friend as well as a colleague.

“He was very much in our thoughts and there was lots of emotion when people asked what we were raising money for.”

The cycle ride ride was the idea of Steve’s nephew Ben. At first they set an initial target of £5,000, but it soon grew and now stands at around £20,000.

This includes cash donations along the way as well as through fundraising website pages.

Other staff at Treatt also raised £1,200 in their work cycle room, which the company boosted to £1,500. The riders were greeted by hundreds of people when they arrived at Cullompton FC, including family and friends.

One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour and just 12 per cent of those diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour, like Steve, survive beyond five years compared with an average of 54 per cent across all cancers.

To donate to the fund, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stevesride

Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this disease. Brain Tumour Research calls for support and action for research into what is called the ‘last battleground against cancer’.