KEEN cyclists are needed to greet the crew of HMS Ledbury when they arrive at Gloucester on a sponsored bike ride for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Local riders will then join the fundraisers on the final leg into town.

Fourteen crew members from the minesweeper plan to cycle more than 100 miles in two days, from Portsmouth to Ledbury, which has been described as "a second home" by the ship's captain Lieutenant Commander Peter Olive.

Ledbury mayor Keith Francis plans to cycle out to meet the crew at Gloucester and wants others to join him.

He urged anyone interested to get in touch with him at the town council offices.

The navy team plan to leave Portsmouth on February 10 and arrive in Ledbury around noon on February 12. They will stop overnight en route.

Town councillors are due to make contact with the crew before then, to prepare for a visit to Portsmouth by a ten-strong delegation from Ledbury on January 22. This follows an official invitation to visit the naval base.

However, HMS Ledbury itself will not be there, as it is currently undergoing a refit at Rossyth shipyard in Scotland.