MOLLY Johns has raised at least £450 for Help for Heroes with her sponsored silence and sponsored cycle. Seven of Molly’s Kingsbridge Air Cadets - Sgt Hingston, Cadet Rains, Flt Lt Parsons, Cpl Risley, Cadet Harper, Cadet Ward and Cadet Arundell - helped her with her sponsored cycle at Quayside Leisure Centre on Saturday, May 28, cycling over 115 miles between 8am and 4pm.Taking on the challenge in half an hour slots, with some deciding to stay on for longer - Corporal Risley did one hour and a half session, while Cadet Arundell did a one hour session - there were only breaks to swap cyclists in the gruelling eight-hour challenge.

Chris Jones, an athlete in the recent Invictus Games, travelled from Ivybridge to support Molly and her team as he is a civilian instructor at South Dartmoor Air Cadet squadron.

Chris joined the Army Air Corp as a Groundcrewman in 1993, after time as a Air Cadet in Teignmouth, progressing to Landing Point Commander and ultimately an Aircrewman. During his service, he received several injuries to his legs, impairing his mobility.

He took part in the Invictus Game in Orlando, Florida, competing for the UK team in the handbike event and the indoor rowing. He came 8th in his road cycling event, the second placed Briton, and then had just half an hour to rest before taking part in the rowing event, in which he achieved 6th place, and then a one-minute sprint row, in which he missed out on a bronze medal by just eight metres.

Molly said: ‘I’m really proud of the cadets who turned up, giving up their free time, and I’m so thankful to Chris who travelled down especially to see us.’

The week before the sponsored cycle, Molly had been undertaking a sponsored silence while at school - she attends Year 8 of Kingsbridge Community College - using a whiteboard to communicate with friends and teachers.

‘I really struggled on the last day’, said Molly, ‘and I think even the teachers were getting a bit annoyed at the whiteboard by the end of the week’.

Molly raised around £150 through her sponsored silence and around £300 for her sponsored cycle, giving a total of £450 to the charity Help For Heroes, which supports injured veterans from the armed services.

When asked why she was supporting the charity, Molly said: ‘I want to go into the forces when I’m older, so it could be me, my family or my close friends that need Help For Heroes.’

To find out more about what Help For Heroes do, visit the website: www.helpforheroes.org.uk. Kingsbridge Air Cadets meet every Tuesday evening from 6pm until 9.30pm at their base on Wallingford Road. Email: [email protected] or call 07834 468880 if you want to find out more about them.