TWO friends are embarking on an epic endurance challenge in July to raise money for the air ambulance that came to the aid of a young relative - who was helped by teams after a medical episode whilst on holiday in the Lakes as a baby.

Ryan Noble, 42, and Ed Jones, 47, will be cycling, kayaking and hiking from Sunderland (their hometown) to the top of Helvellyn in under 16 hours.

The friends are hoping to raise thousands of pounds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after Ryan’s nephew Isaac Hoey required their help when he was just six weeks old.

In 2018 Isaac and his parents were having a weekend in the Lake District when he stopped breathing.

As Isaac’s parents administered CPR, paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service and a paramedic and doctor team from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) arrived on scene.

Isaac was administered oxygen by GNAAS’ critical care team before being airlifted to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where it was revealed that Isaac was suffering from bronchiolitis.

He was put on a ventilator and spent three days in intensive care followed by four days of rest before he was eventually allowed to come home.

Thankfully, Isaac has recovered well, and now his uncle Ryan has teamed up with his friend Ed to take part in an outdoor endurance challenge on July, 27 with the aim of raising £2,000 for GNAAS.

He said: “I like to do things which are different, and I love the Lakes. When I saw a kayak in Costco I joked with my missus and said I was going to buy it, but she didn’t let me. I then kept saying “it’s lovely weather for a kayak.”

“Eventually my friends bought me a kayak for my 40th birthday so I decided I was going to do a challenge involving cycling and kayaking and I roped my friend Ed into doing it. I thought it was fitting to do the challenge in the Lakes, as that’s where Isaac’s incident happened.”

Ryan is no stranger to cycling challenges, after previously raising money for charity by cycling to Berlin and Prague, but this is the first time he will be incorporating a kayak into one of his fundraising challenges.

He said: “The cycle will see us ride just shy of 135km over the North Pennines, taking in around 7000ft of climbing to arrive in Pooley Bridge.

“The kayak will see us paddle our way in a two-man kayak from Pooley Bridge along the full length of Ullswater covering around 12km.

“The hike will take us up from Glenridding to the peak of the famous Helvellyn summit at 3120ft and 6.5km.”

More than £1,000 has already been raised for GNAAS, and Ryan will also be taking part in the Great North Run, alongside Isaac’s parents in September.