The chairman of a Stevenage charity has set himself the challenge of raising £25,000 in the next 50 days to coincide with his 50th birthday.

Robert Stewart wants to raise thousands of pounds to celebrate reaching the milestone and help to mark the 25th anniversary of the Stevenage Community Trust.

He is planning on selling 1000 lottery tickets for £25 each which will see the jackpot winner taking home a £1,000 prize.

And to help boost the fund Robert and his son Callum, 24, are going to tackle a sponsored cycle ride to Stevenage from Cambridge city centre on a tandem – a journey of 50 miles.

Robert said this week: “I just woke up on Monday and thought: There are 50 days until my 50th birthday. What can I do to raise funds?

“The most we have ever raised from one event before is around £9,000 or £10,000 but we wanted to set ourselves a challenge.

“I know that this is going to be an enormous ask, but every single penny of that £25,000 will be going back into the town.

“There will be no administration costs it all goes back to Stevenage.”

As well as the tandem ride and lottery, Sarah Marks, who works for the trust, will run the Barcelona Marathon on March 15. All the money she raises will also be given to the trust.

Robert said: “With all that going on, if we can’t raise £25,000 we should be shot!”

The Stevenage Community Trust is an independent charitable trust which raises money to improve the quality of life of people living in the borough and its surrounding villages.

Robert has been a trustee of the charity for 10 years, and has committed to providing £100,000 in grants during the anniversary year to bring the amount the trust has donated to local good causes since it was founded over the £1 million mark.

For more information visit www.stevenagecommunitytrust.org or call the charity on 01438 525390.