A student is travelling 780 miles across the UK on a bike that he made himself - almost entirely from recycled parts and wood.

Kidus Tesera, 24, was inspired to make his own bike after repairing a secondhand one at the workshop at Imperial College where he studies.

The biochemistry student says his family and friends had all thought the idea was ridiculous, but over the next two months he completed his creation using almost entirely recycled materials.

This included old metal parts, scrap wood, and even components from his nine-year-old cousin's bike, which she sold him for nine pounds.

Though his first attempt at adding an electric motor failed, the wooden-framed bike eventually became a reality- through a lot of determination.

Kidus, from Elephant and Castle, southeast London, said: "I was just fiddling around in a hack space, and at that similar time I was also getting into bikes."

"But then I had a lightbulb moment after repairing this completely rugged bike, and I decided to make a bike because I knew enough about them at that point."

"My family thought it was ridiculous,"

but when I finally finished they were like ‘Wow, it actually works.'"

But Kidus' next feat came shortly after, when a fellow student jokingly suggested he drive his bike across the UK to "prove it actually could work"."

He decided to take on the dare and is currently embarking on a major cycle from John O'Groats to Dover, with an impressive 780 miles already under his belt.

Shortly after starting the ride in Scotland, Kidus decided to raise money for charity Age Uk by adding a QR code on the bike for people to donate.

The idea, Kidus explained, came after receiving "kind hospitality" from many older people on his cycle, which inspired him to give something back."

Kidus said: "As I was going through Scotland, I was relying a lot on people, most of the time it was elderly people that obviously are just there on their own, and I'd be the first person they speak to in a couple of weeks."

"So I decided when I left Scotland and I was in Newcastle to print out a QR code that sends people to a donation website."

So far Kidus has raised over £2,000 for the charity with the number growing as he continues his cycle.

The student has begun documenting his journey on his Instagram account - @itskius - with his videos capturing passers-by reacting to his bike.

He added: "I've been camping for about 80 per cent of the time, but that number is getting less the further south I go and people are recognising me from online."

"I'm not doing this for fame, but for me the views mean that my work and what I'm trying to do is being recognised."

"I want people to make a bike, to just make exactly what I've made but better. I want people to do it with me, I want people to do a ride with me in the future."

For Kidus, the project represents his goals and aims to inspire people to upcycle and become more sustainable – something of great importance to him as a biochemistry student.

He said:" I have been struggling to articulate what I'm doing because it's not just a singular story, it's a lot of things that I stand for."

"Recycling is part of it, waste. Upcycling is part of it, recycling is part of it, sustainability is part of it, the idea of renewable."

"My journey is of social impact, it's not just about age, it's all people that I want inspired to help and to be helped."