A man is cycling from Manchester to Abersoch in Wales dressed as Elliott from ET, with his extra-terrestrial friend riding along in the front basket.

Ben Griffiths, from Urmston, is completing the 117-mile charity ride in memory of his grandad Len Morris, who died earlier this year at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green.

In recognition of the staff’s hard work, the cyclist is making the challenge even tougher by completing the ride on a 1970s Raleigh Shopper bike worth just £20.

Ben, 32, said: “I saw what everyone goes through at St Ann’s Hospice on a daily basis, so I want to really challenge myself and push myself out of my comfort zone.

“My family are all really supportive, there were many nurses that my grandad was fond of and everyone at the hospice provided us with so much support.”

Ben has already hit his initial target of £2,000 so now Ben has his sights set on raising as much as possible for the hospice before setting off on his challenge.

Messenger Newspapers: The route that Ben and ET will be taking later this week, which is predicted to take them more than 11 hoursThe route that Ben and ET will be taking later this week, which is predicted to take them more than 11 hours (Image: Public)

“The last time I did a charity bike ride I raised just over £1,000, so hopefully with ET I can triple that,” he added.

Following success in reaching his target, Ben is already looking towards his next goal, stating that he intends go "Everesting" next year.

Everesting is a challenge that sees the rider continuously ride up and down a hill of their choice until they have reached an elevation gain equal to that of Mount Everest.

Before gearing up for a tougher challenge Ben will first need to complete his Manchester to Abersoch stretch.

He intends to set off at 5am on March 31, but he won’t be alone.

His friends will be riding alongside him with his cousin tailing in a car for technical support.

“My sister is also meeting us to ride the last 10km – it’s brilliant that everyone around me is getting stuck in too,” he said.

St Ann’s Hospice provides holistic care to patients with life-limiting illnesses from sites in Heald Green, Stockport and Salford.

Its hospice building in Heald Green, where Len received his end-of-life treatment, is 150 years old and through their Build It Together appeal they hope to raise money to go towards building a new hospice next door.

To support Ben in his fancy dress fundraising challenge, his JustGiving page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-griffiths33.