Until last year, 44-year-old father-of-three Martin Dunford would have described himself as a very lucky man.

He had a good job, a lovely wife, Pippa, and three beautiful children; Ellis, seven, Katie, five and one-year-old Lauren.

But last year his picture-perfect family life was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just over a year to live.

His plight has inspired four friends to undertake a gruelling cycle the length of the country, while Mr Dunford hopes his spirit will rouse other sufferers to fight the killer disease.

He said: “It’s fundamentally important people shouldn’t be scared. Be positive and give it a damn good fight.”

Fellow fathers Jamie Davis, Neil Humphrey, Neil Cuthbertson and Rob Fisher, who are all from Kingston, hope to complete their self-titled 1000in9 challenge - so named because they cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just nine days - to raise £50,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Married father-of-two Mr Fisher, 42, said: “All four of us in this challenge have friends and family who have direct experience of cancer and what this does to individuals and their families.”

With his biggest cycling challenge to date being London to Brighton, Mr Humphrey, 40, a married father-of-two, said: “Sixty miles was enough for me. I’m absolutely terrified at the prospect of 100 plus miles a day for nine days back to back.

“I keep asking myself why I’m doing this, but then I remember that if we hit our fundraising target, then we really will be making a difference to people living with cancer.”

Mr Dunford, also a keen cyclist, first noticed a shortness of breath when he struggled to run to his car in September last year.

Two weeks later he was diagnosed with Mesothelioma Cancer, a cancer of the cavity between the lungs and the body.

The illness had been caused by exposure to asbestos, despite the fact Mr Dunford had never smoked or come into contact with building sites.

He said: “I am unusually young for this to appear, so it was quite devastating. You don’t think of it happening to you at this sort of age, especially something as extreme.

“But I have to stay positive, keeping going every day and just making sure I bring happiness to the world.”

After complications, Mr Dunford eventually started chemotherapy in late October, but it only succeeded in slightly shrinking some of the tumours and treatment had to stop in late February due to serious side effects.

Despite seeing three doctors outside the NHS for their opinion, the main tumour in Mr Dunford’s chest was too near the heart and main artery for any dynamic treatments.

He said: “If I was not having enough bad luck with having a cancer from asbestos, I could not be helped due to the unusual position of it between the lungs.

“There are new drugs, as an alternative to further chemotherapy, I have been informed about, but these will at best just contain the spread for a period of time.

"I should live longer than the doctor’s original forecast, but no hope of a cure or long-term survival exists."

Yet determined Mr Dunford, who is receiving treatment at Princess Alice Hospice, has remained upbeat and even headlined a charity concert for Macmillan Cancer Support backed by his employers Birds Eye and featuring his band Mutiny.

And he plans to support the men on their 1000in9 bike ride to raise £50,000 for Macmillan.

He said: “It’s brilliant what they are doing. I plan to get in my car and go along on the route and support them and get involved as much as I can.”

The four friends have already raised more than £16K, much of it thanks to local support, with 1000in9 launched with a fundraiser at the Hampton Court Palace Golf Club in February.

Macmillan fundraising manager for south west London, Kate Macauley, said: “I really do want people to get behind 1000in9 and appreciate the hard work that they are putting in, not just in those nine days, but with all the training that they will have to do as well.

“£50,000 is the kind of money that could fund a Macmillan nurse for a year.”

Visit 1000in9.co.uk or email contactus@1000in9.co.uk.