KNOWN as “Bionic Bruce” to his friends he has been a superhuman fundraiser over the past quarter of a century.

Bruce Elkins, from Ashurst Bridge is hoping to reach £250,000 before the end of his 25th year of charity challenges.

He has £14,000 to go having raised £11,000 through his efforts on the Stelvio Challenge, a week-long 460-mile bike ride through Dolomite mountains in Italy, climbing more than 35,000 feet.

The money will be shared between the Wessex cancer Trust and the Rose Road Association, for which he is an ambassador – the main beneficiaries of Bruce’s exertions over the years.

The charted accountant began fundraising for Wessex Cancer when he lost his mother to the disease in 1990. The next year he took part in the Totton Triathlon, the first in a long series of gruelling tests.

Over the years Bruce, 57, has run the London Marathon twice, taken part in countless sponsored swims, cycles and walks and completed a Half Iron Man triathlon.

In 2012 he raised £90,000 in a single year by organising the 123 Decathlon Challenge - ten Olympic themed sporting events which took place throughout the year in aid of The Rainbow Centre, Wessex Cancer and Rose Road.

Bruce says his hardest test was a cycle ride from Lands End to John O’ Groats during which he stopped off to complete the Three Peaks Challenge on the way.

In 2008 he had to he underwent an operation to resurface both hips hence his nickname but that has not held him back although he does have trouble at airports where the metal parts of his joints set off the alarms.

Bruce was a founding partner of the accountancy firm CW Fellowes which merged with Wilkins Kennedy in 2013. He partner in the firm, based at their Southampton office, and Wilkins Kennedy jointly sponsored the Stelvio Challenge, alongside Abacus who supplied all the support vehicles.

He completed the ride with two of “Rose Roadies” team mates Jerry Dibben and John Mursell.

“My thanks go to them and of course, my friends, colleagues and associates at Wilkins Kennedy – I couldn’t have done it without you!” said Bruce.

Bruce hopes to reach his £250,000 target by recruiting a huge team of walkers to accompany him on this year’s Walk the Test Way in October – a 25-mile hike from

St Mary Bourne and Romsey – organised by the Rotary Club of Romsey Test.

In the mean time you can sponsor Bruce on justgiving.com/bruce-elkins1.