A WAVERTON man has won a trip to meet TV adventurer Ray Mears after he bid £21,500 in a BBC Radio Two auction in support of Children In Need.

Graham Rideal, 60, was named the highest bidder on Terry Wogan’s “things money can’t buy” feature on Monday. He and his son-in-law will fly to Canada next spring.

The auctions, offering listeners the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime prizes, were held each day in the run up to tonight’s Children in Need extravaganza on BBC1.

Rideal, a leading scientist and keen charity worker, won after a rival bidder pulled out at the last minute.

He said: “It’s fantastic. I originally bid £15,000 but when it started going up I thought ‘this is getting a bit expensive!’

“The producer called me to say the rival bidder had pulled out which I thought was a little unfair but I will honour the payment.

“This is a great idea, ticks all of the boxes with regards to my work with children’s charities and my sense of adventure.”

Rideal and 32-year-old Jamie Storey will go to Saskatchewan to meet Mears where they will have a day of bushcraft, learning about survival in a cold, isolated environment.

Currently fighting cancer, Rideal has vowed to continue his charity work and continued encouraging children to take up science and music.

It is through the success of his business, Whitehouse Scientific, that such generous funds can be donated to charities, including Children In Need.

He said: “Since the first cancer diagnosis, my company has grown in leaps and bounds. This has enabled me to give money as well as my time, but without the excellent hospital treatment, none of this would have been possible.”

“I would therefore like to dedicate my success to the Countess of Chester hospital and the bowel cancer team in particular.”