A PEDDLING pianist played seven shows in just one day for Children in Need.

Jazz musician Mike Hatchard started his day-long tour at the Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham on Friday.

His jaunt, which saw him tow his keyboard behind him on his bike, lasted from 10am until about 12.30am on Saturday, when his mini-tour finished at the Azur venue in St Leonards.

His 14-hour journey – which also took in Brighton, Rottingdean, Eastbourne and Bexhill – included concerts lasting at least an hour each.

Mr Hatchard was joined onstage by West End singer Gary Bland, who also appeared in the film Les Miserable.

Mr Hatchard said: "It was crazy. It was going to be five concerts initially, but then the Underground Theatre in Eastbourne called me, so it was six. And then I added on the Azur show, so seven.

"I would cycle, get off my bike, do an hour-long concert, get back on, cycle again, get off again, play again... and it just went on like that."

Mr Hatchard, who lives in Hastings, has form for epic bike rides: for his 60th birthday he undertook a mammoth trip that saw him ride 1,400 miles from Land's End in Cornwall to John o' Groats in Scotland, via the Kent coast, with his keyboard in tow.

Mr Hatchard said of his latest journey: "It was only just about physically manageable - there were five hours of cycling. I didn't really eat – I just had energy bars and ten minutes' sleep in Eastbourne."

But it was worth it. Through his bike rides and shows, Mr Hatchard has so far raised £7,800 on JustGiving and another £1,830 through concert tickets and donations. Another £1,000 pledge and a separate £700 donation mean he expects to figure to approach £11,500.

He said: "I have always liked cycling and love playing the piano. I just wanted to do one crazy thing but I didn't expect it to be quite as mad as it was.

"I didn't expect to raise this much money either. It becomes a bit addictive really."

Mr Hatchard said his wife drove his piano for the second half of the jaunt, while he continued cycling, adding: "The summer nearly killed me to be honest – I was nearly pushing myself to extinction."

Friend Heather Rees, a tap dancer in her 70s, helped organise the summer trek to Scotland and Mr Hatchard said: "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been able to do this."

To top us Mr Hatchard's donations, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Mike-Hatchard.