A teenager is preparing to cycle 1,000 miles during his summer holiday to support children with heart problems.

Jonathan Fry will cycle 950 miles on a static exercise bike at his home in Temple Gardens, Golders Green, before completing a 50-mile ride through Devon between July and August. He plans to cycle about 50 miles a day at home for three weeks.

The 15-year-old, a Year 11 pupil at Christ’s College school in East Finchley, hopes to raise at least £6,000 in sponsorship for the challenge, which will be donated to support the work of international charity Save A Child’s Heart (SACH).

He said: “For those that know me, they will know that I like a good challenge, but never before have I set myself a challenge quite as extreme as this one.

“It’s a mental and physical challenge for me and I always like putting myself to the test.”

SACH is based in the Wolfson Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel, and helps to treat children with heart problems from countries that do not have the facilities or expertise to do so.

Since it was founded in 1995, SACH has carried out 3,400 life-saving operations on children from 50 different countries.

The charity also trains doctors from around the world to enable them to return to their countries and continue to carry out life-saving work.

Jonathan’s target of £6,000 is enough to save a child’s life, enabling the charity to fly a doctor to operate on a child abroad and cover the cost of care both before and after surgery.

The teenager said: “I was at a friend’s birthday party and I met David Silverston, a SACH trustee, and he was talking about the charity.

“I was inspired by his work and what he does and wanted to contribute.”

If you wish to support Jonathan’s challenge, you can donate at justgiving.com/JFry

For more information about SACH, visit saveachildsheart.org