A disabled armed forces veteran is aiming to complete the equivalent of the Parish Walk in the National Sports Centre (NSC) gym to raise money for charity.

Wheelchair user Mike Ryan from Onchan will look to complete the 85 miles using a hand crank - an exercise machine powered by a user's arms rather than their legs.

And the 51-year-old is hoping to raise £500 for charity ‘Bridge The Gap’ in the process.

Mike served in the Royal Engineers throughout the 1990s and was deployed to a number of locations across Europe including Germany and Northern Ireland during his time in the forces.

During his service, he suffered multiple fractures to his legs which has left him needing the use of a wheelchair to get around.

Mike also suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and was referred to the NSC gym through the Mental Health Service’s ‘ACTIV4HEALTH’ referral scheme.

The Bridge The Gap charity looks to improve facilities and support for teenagers and young adults with long term health needs in the Isle of Man - a cause close to Mike’s heart.

Speaking about the upcoming challenge, Mike said: ‘The NSC gym have had a scheme on since about April time called the “parish challenge”.

‘I could never do the Parish Walk - there's too much that I wouldn't be able to do as a wheelchair user. So, with that in theory, I jokingly said to them “oh, can I do the parish challenge?”

‘They said that I could do it as long as I find a piece of equipment that registers distance. I can only use one bit of equipment in there that does that, and that’s the hand crank.’

Mike is set to take on the challenge on Wednesday, June 18, starting at roughly 10am, and hopes to complete the 85 miles before the gym closes that night.

He has been training for the event since April and has so far completed over 900 miles using the machine.

Mike said he hopes to surpass 1,000 miles overall during the gruelling 85-mile challenge on Wednesday.

‘A part of me really wants to hit that 1,000 miles,’ Mike said.

‘It's going to be hard work for a day and then whatever recovery time afterwards, but you just need to get your head in the right place and absolutely knuckle down.

‘It's not the same as doing it for real, and I'm totally aware of that. I'm not dealing with weather, slopes or climbs, but the machine is savage and very hard on the arms.

‘If the Parish Walk was on flat ground, I would’ve given it a go - but you can’t get a wheelchair to go up the Sloc!’

He added that he hopes people that both use and don’t use wheelchairs will take inspiration from the challenge.

He said: ‘I think it's a good platform for showing that, yes there's a wheelchair, but take away the need of the wheelchair as part of the judgement and see what people can do.’

If you wish to donate or find out more about Mike’s challenge, you can do so by visiting https://tinyurl.com/3wczv2dy

Alternatively, if you would like to find out more about the Bridge the Gap charity and what they do, you can visit https://bridgethegap.im/