A DUNFERMLINE barman who said au revoir to over 17 stones has completed an epic cycle ride from London to Paris.

Calum Paterson, who works at the Guildhall and Linen Exchange in the High Street, pedalled his way through 185 miles last week, raising over £1,700 in the process.

He arrived at the Eiffel Tower in the French capital on Saturday evening and is now back in West Fife where he is hoping to enjoy some well earned rest.

As reported previously by the Press, Calum, 28, weighed in at 34 stones at the age of 21 when he decided to begin his weight loss journey.

He signed up for the charity challenge with his employers, Wetherspoons, to help raise funds for Young Lives vs Cancer.

“It was really good,” he said. “The London to Portsmouth leg was a bit iffy but as soon as we got to France, it was amazing.

“The traffic was mental but when you are cycling on the wee country roads and cars are coming, they wait behind you because they have more respect for cyclists over there.

"It was definitely one of those once in a lifetime experiences.

“I never managed to get that much training done – the longest training run I did was about 30 miles, so it was a big difference.

"There were 30 people from Wetherspoons and the rest were people who had been affected by cancer. As a group we raised £117,000.”

Completing between 60 and 90 miles every day, Calum had early fears that his efforts could be halted prematurely.

“On the first day my hamstring went and I thought that was going to be me out but one of the guys gave me an ibuprofen cream and the next day there were no issues,” he explained.

“When we got to Paris we got to a holding point and waited for everyone and we all cycled in a convoy. I didn’t expect the Eiffel Tower to be so big – it was massive.

"We had seen it in the distance coming down from the hills then you are there and it is some size.”