Boys' Brigade Captain to cycle from Leeds to Nottingham on Raleigh Chopper for fundraiser

Oliver Lowthorpe, 15, has not been able to attend school since summer 2021.

Following a sudden onset of symptoms in March 2020, Oliver was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease Unclassified Colitis.

This is an auto-immune condition, causing ulcers, swelling and bleeding within the bowel.

This impacts upon Oliver in numerous ways, including extreme fatigue, urgent toilet needs and severe stomach cramps.

Oliver's condition has also had a huge impact upon his mental health, causing depression and anxiety, Company Captain Paul Curtis, 48, told the YEP.

"Oliver struggles if he is to go somewhere he is unfamiliar with, especially where toilet access may be restrictive, busy or shared", Paul explained.

"These issues have led to Oliver becoming reclusive from his friends and rarely leaving the house."

Oliver is now having remote school lessons via Queenswood Education Centre, which is a teaching base for young people who cannot access mainstream school because of a medical or mental health need.

He is currently doing so with a borrowed laptop and Paul and Oliver's friends hope to be able to fund a brand new one to help him in his studies.

On February 19, many of the boys took part in a walking challenge to raise funds.

On March 19, Company Captain Paul Curtis will attempt to cycle from their base at St Mark's Methodist Church, Swinnow, to the base of Paul's boyhood BB company, 32nd Nottingham, at Nuthall Methodist Church.

This will cover a distance of 75 miles - on a Raleigh Chopper bike.

More than £200 has been raised so far.

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