A journalist who gave up his job to cycle solo across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, England and Scotland has cut his adventure short due to injury.

Bernie Friend, who left the Basildon Echo in April, had completed 3,500km of his planned trip when he began experiencing problems with his knee while cycling through Norway.

He had already passed through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden - raising £3,000 for Cancer Research - but was forced to put the final leg of his journey, through the Shetland and Orkney islands back down through Britain, on hold.

And the former sports writer/sub is now back home in Essex working on a book about his journey.

Bernie, (35), told HoldtheFrontPage: "It started to get hilly in Sweden, and when I got to Norway I was cycling over mountains.

"I started to get a clicking in my right knee, and had damaged some ligaments playing football about eight years ago. I had quite a weight on my back, plus a sleeping bag and tent, dragging on my knee and was risking a permanent injury.

"It was a hard decision to stop but I didn't want to do serious damage when I had already done so well."

Bernie dreamt up his trip following a double family tragedy which saw him lose his mum to a brain tumour. His partner's mum also died from a brain tumour a few months later.

Spurred on to raise money in their memory, Bernie began his journey along the North Sea Cycle Route, taking copious notes along the way.

He said: "Every country is so close together but so different in terms of landscape, people and things to look at.

"One of the highlights was Ribe, Denmark's oldest preserved town. It is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere but it has history pouring out of every brick.

"In all the countries, apart from perhaps Germany, people were all interested in us and England and still look on us as a big powerful nation - I was quick to dispel that for them!"

Bernie now hopes his book Cycling back to Happiness, will be complete by Christmas, and publisher Pen Press has also expressed an interest in a sequel when Bernie completes the last leg of his journey next year.