AN ABERGAVENNY accountant has swapped his calculator for cycling shorts and pens for panniers as he embarks on a 700 mile charity bike ride across Europe to raise money for a Welsh children's charity.

Steve Theaker, a tax partner at Abergavenny based UHY Peacheys, will start his challenge in Pau, France continue through Spain and finish in Porto in Portugal.

Accompanied by his friend Martin Rowe, this will be their sixth cycle tour, their aim this time is to raise £2,000 for LATCH, a charity which supports the children's oncology centre at the Children's Hospital for Wales in Cardiff.

Steve said, "Our cycle ride has become quite an annual event now and this year I thought I'd use the opportunity to raise money for LATCH.

"At UHY Peacheys, we support LATCH as much as we can because it is such a worthwhile cause and has made such a massive difference to the lives of sick children.

"I cycle regularly throughout the year so I am fit, but nothing ever prepares me for the arduous climbs of the Pyrenees, the stifling heat and the rocky terrain of some of the roads.

"But I'm going to keep my fundraising target in the forefront of my mind and hopefully that will help ease some of the pain."

Multi-talented Steve, is also an accomplished musician, and is known to his colleagues as the singing accountant because of his penchant for penning songs about accountancy-related topics.