AN ASTONISHING �25,000 has been handed to healthcare providers and cancer charities by a group of friends who pushed a hospital bed from Pill all the way to Cornwall.

Door2door4thecure saw Matt Derrick, his friend Paul Moger and many more friends and family take part in the gruelling 11-day challenge to help collect cash for five good causes.

The event was held in July and, on November 6, cheques totalling �25,000 were handed to St Peter’s Hospice, the Teenage Cancer Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Bristol Oncology Unit and Pill Family GP Practice.

The bed push was organised by Matt (known to many as Maff), Paul and Matt’s wife Emma after she was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer in August last year.

The idea came up in conversation during a visit to their local pub and grew from there to become a hugely successful fund-raising adventure.

On July 29, Emma was well enough to see the start of the bed push and just a week before that her and Matt married during a special ceremony at their home in North Grove.

However, on August 21 Emma, aged 34, died surrounded by her family and friends.

Matt, who has been amazed at the amount of support he and Emma received, said: “The whole thing from start to finish has been mind-blowing.

“It amazes me how it has gone from trying to raise �5,000 to actually raising �25,000.

“Emma would have been over the moon.”

On November 6, the cheques were handed over to charity representatives during an evening of live music and entertainment at Lodway Cricket Club in Pill that resulted in another �750 being raised.

This will be put toward next year’s event, which Matt hopes will see two beds leaving Cornwall and Pill simultaneously in the hope of raising even more money for charity.