Family, colleagues and friends have set off from Bury St Edmunds for a marathon cycle ride to Devon in memory of Steve Morrissey

Family, colleagues and friends set off on an emotional marathon cycle ride this morning.

The nine cyclists are riding 280 miles from Bury St Edmunds to Collumpton, Devon, to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

The cyclists are raising money in memory of Steve Morrissey, a former senior sales manager for Treatt PLC, from where they began their journey at 9am.

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.

The couple died just seven weeks apart.

Steve’s cancer was aggressive and he travelled from Bury St Edmunds 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 fundraising challenge will take four days with the group having to complete 70-miles of cycling each day.

It was the idea of Steve’s nephew Ben Brown. He is joined on the ride by Steve’s sister Lizzie, brother in law Richard and nephew Cash.

After setting an initial target of £5,000, they have already reached £11,303.

The other riders are all current and former Treatt employees who described Steve as ‘an amazing colleague and friend’.

The cycle ride will commemorate Steve and his daughter’s final journey together from Bury to Devon.

Ben, 32, of Tiverton, in Devon, said: “Our family has experienced so much heartache because of the lack of treatment options for brain tumour patients.

“It’s devastated our family. I think I’m still processing the shock of losing my uncle Steve so soon after Ali.”

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.

Ben added: “It was important to plan a challenge the whole family could take part in. I wanted it to be something where you have to put effort into the organising and doing.

“I bought my first bike in December. The maximum distance I’ve reached so far is around 30 miles, so I know it’s going to be tough.”

You can sponsor the riders here

The riders hope to arrive in Devon on Sunday afternoon.