Northgate Vehicle Hire has showed its support for a charity cycle challenge in memory of Elliot Granger organised by his parents Louise and Simon Granger.

Team Elliot has gone on to raise over £3,800 for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Trust after successfully cycling 170 miles across Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Louise and Simon Granger were motivated to raise awareness of spinal muscular atrophy Type 1 after the loss of their son Elliot in February this year, who suffered from the disease. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an inherited neuromuscular condition that very specifically affects nerve cells in the spinal cord called lower motor neurons. SMA is a relatively rare disease that affects approximately 1 in 6,000 – 10,000 babies born and about 1 in 40 of us carry one of these faulty gene copies. SMA is a recessive genetic disorder, meaning that two faulty copies of the disease gene have to come together, one from each parent for the disease to occur.

As part of their mission the couple, along with 12 others, completed the 170-mile three-day Way Of The Roses cycle challenge, which saw Team Elliot cover routes across Lancashire and Yorkshire on the National Cycle Network including Linton-on-Ouse, York and Bridlington, all in an effort to raise money for SMA research.

As well as sponsoring the team, Northgate provided a minibus and transit van, both with a free tank of fuel, to contribute to the team’s effort.

Jonathan Pearce, marketing manager at Northgate Vehicle Hire, added:  “We believe it is extremely important to contribute to charity efforts like Team Elliot’s cycle challenge. We were delighted when Louise approached us and were more than happy to provide vehicles for the team. They have raised a huge amount for such a well-deserved charity and we hope they turn to Northgate for support in the future.”

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