Five charities which have joined forces to fight heart disease have called for people to take positive action to stop it ruining millions of lives. 

They have launched a new cycling challenge to raise funds to support their work. 

The first Big Heart Bike Ride will take place in Cuba - one of the world's last bastions of communism - next year, and men and women of all ages are being invited to take part. 

Funds raised by the 320km ride across the Caribbean's largest and least commercialised island will be shared between The British Heart Foundation, CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), Echo UK (The Tiny Tickers charity), Heart UK and Wessex Heartbeat. 

The event takes place from April 14 to 23, and will be an amazing five-day adventure through towns and villages that seem frozen in time. 

At the end of the challenge, cyclists will be able to spend time in Havana. 

To take part, riders need to pay a £250 registration fee and raise a minimum of £2,700 sponsorship. 

For further information or an application form, call (0845) 408 2698, or e-mail events@actionforcharity.co.uk