THE founder of a campaign which aims to give Norfolk's rural communities a greater voice has completed his 100-plus mile cycle ride around some of the county's rural villages.

THE founder of a campaign which aims to give Norfolk's rural communities a greater voice has completed his 100-plus mile cycle ride around some of the county's rural villages.

George Freeman, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for the new mid-Norfolk constituency, completed the final 30 miles from Watton to Attleborough, following the boundary of the new constituency.

Completion of the rural ride on Saturday comes after a major conference organised by the Plunkett Foundation where delegates heard from MPs and rural economy experts, outlining the challenges faced by under-threat rural communities.

On previous legs of the tour, Mr Freeman has drawn attention to a number of related rural issues, backed by the EDP, such as Pubs the Hub and Save Mid Norfolk Post Offices, and was looking at his final leg to promote the need for a greater respect from Whitehall of the potential of rural communities.

Mr Freeman is founder of The Norfolk Way campaign aimed at encouraging local economic development and the enhancement of infrastructure in the county's rural areas. 'The bike tour has raised awareness of both the new constituency boundary and the issues affecting this part of Norfolk. People are extremely concerned about declining rural services but feel powerless against an ever growing bureaucracy,' he said.

More details of the Norfolk Way campaign can be found at www.georgefreeman.co.uk/norfolkway