AN AMBITIOUS fundraiser is preparing to trek 500 miles across northern Spain in aid of the charity which helped care for his dad.

Mark Stevens, from Clifton-upon-Teme, is set to take on the mammoth hike in May this year and hopes to raise £4,460 - the amount it costs to fund every Marie Curie nurse in the UK for an hour.

His winding journey will follow an ancient pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, starting in St John Pied-de-Port in southern France and finishing in Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain.

Mr Stevens, 54, hopes to complete the demanding walk in 29 days, meaning he will need to walk around 16 miles over often difficult terrain every day.

The dad-of-three said: "My father died a few years ago and this was always something I had in my bucket list to do.

"It is just something I personally wanted to do for him. I just wanted to give something back to people who care for people who are dying.

"As it turned out I had two friends who wanted to do it too."

Mr Stevens, along with his friends Bob Ackroyd and Andrew Burns, will set off on Wednesday, May 11.

And the team are busy training for the challenge already, with Mr Stevens walking around five miles every morning before work.

"It is the camaraderie of of just walking every day and meeting lots and lots of new people every day is what I'm looking forward to," said Mr Stevens.

The Camino de Santiago, or St James Walk, finishes at the shrine of the apostle St James the Great, where tradition has it remains of the Saint are buried.

To donate to Mr Steven's cause visit justgiving.com/markscamino/ and to follow his progress visit markscaminoblog.wordpress.com

For more information about Marie Curie visit mariecurie.org.uk