The family and friends of a keen mountain biker are hoping he will be remembered with a new mountain bike trail section.

Neil Polson, 37, died in September from a heart attack. He was a keen mountain biker and to commemorate this his friend and colleague, Conrad Guyatt, is trying to fund a trail in Hamsterly Forest in his memory.

The Hamsterly Trailblazers Facebook page suggests the new section will be part of the 14-mile-long red trail and replace the fire road linking the Five Lane Ends and Transmission sections. Guyatt is hoping to crowd fund £5,000 to complete the section and has so far raised over half of the money in less than a week.

Credit: Geograph

The Local Giving page says: “Neil’s family chose Hamsterley Forest to scatter his ashes. This is a place where they spent a lot of happy family time together while growing up. In more recent years it’s where Neil enjoyed many a happy and muddy mountain bike rides with both his family and his many friends.

“We believe it would be a fitting tribute to him if we could play a part in developing a new and permanent mountain bike trail in his memory to give something back to the Hamsterley community and to help develop the next generation of mountainbikers. We have been in contact with the Hamsterley Trailblazers charity who would welcome the opportunity for us to get involved.”

On top of donations, Guyatt has also set up a number of fundraisers, including running the Great North Run, to find the money.

The Northern Echo reports that planning permission has already been granted for the trail.

Neil Gander, Hamsterly Trailblazers chairman, said: “We were really pleased to hear about this idea. Hopefully when the people who knew him ride down the new trail they will have a thought for him.”

If you wish to donate to the project you can do so here or to volunteer for a dig day visit hamsterley-trailblazers.co.uk or search for Hamsterley Trailblazers on Facebook.