A WOMAN has died in South America while on a round-the-world cycle trip.

Sharon Bridgman, who is believed to be 38, died after being hit by a van while travelling through Bolivia with her husband Tim.

The couple, from Zeal Monachorum, near Okehampton in Devon, had been cycling around the world since June 2012 and had already travelled through Europe and Africa without major incident. Robert Szembek, the chairman of Okehampton Cycling Club, of which they were members, said they had been on what was meant to be "a great adventure".

He said: "It is not what you expect to hear, especially when they went right through Africa and rode through some doubtful areas known for problems and had taken precautions like not camping by the road."