FOR most people, cycling hundreds of miles to Paris for charity would be a challenge of a lifetime.

But new dad Rob Henderson took it to another level by racing back to the UK – in time for the birth of his first child.

The chairman of New Milton Round Table and his team were three-quarters of the way through the challenge when he received a call from wife Rosie saying her waters had broken – a month before her due date.

Still miles from their goal and with no airport or train station in sight, the 37-year-old was left with the daunting prospect of missing the magical moment back home.

However the cyclists, consisting of Rob, Gareth Owen, Craig Dobbs, and Phil Hayward, supported by driver Charl Vofloo, put in average speeds between 15-20mph through the night to reach the Champs Élysées and have their photos taken at the Eiffel Tower.

But Rob’s journey was not over yet.

A cancelled flight, taxi ride and a trip on the Eurostar, before a journey on the London Underground and a train to Salisbury saw the determined dad-to-be arrive at his wife’s bedside on Saturday night.

A relieved Rob said Rosie gave birth to a boy, who has still to be named, at 4am the following day via a Caesarean and both mum and baby are doing well.

He said: “When I got the phone call I was thinking how am I going to get back to the UK and make it in time? Why was I stupid enough to cycle to Paris?

“That all changed at 4am when everything fitted into place.

“We probably did 80 per cent of the journey off-road. We were crossing fields and gravel tracks and it puts into perspective how hard we pushed to get me back to the hospital.

“I am grateful to the guys for being able to up the pace after three gruelling days.”