TWO men will canoe 210 miles to raise funds for a home that supports people with motor disorders.

Ben Mannion, Director of Hewett Recruitment and Jim McBride, Chairman of Lesk Engineers, who are both board members of Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce will canoe the length of the River Severn in July to raise money for the Megan Baker House.

Mr Mannion said:

“It’s about 30 miles a day, we need to be canoeing for about eight hours a day.”

Mr Mannion said: “It was a bit of a hare-brained plan over a glass of wine.”

Mr McBride is a trustee of the Megan Baker House in Leominster which provides conductive education sessions for children and adults with motor disorders such as Cerebral Palsy, Dyspraxia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and Acquired brain injury. The charity offer a wide range of services to meet a vast variety of needs, including groups for children.

The plan is for Mr Mannion and Mr McBride to canoe from Llanidloes in mid-Wales, near the source of the River Severn, and finish at Chepstow. The challenge will start on Friday, July 13, finishing Thursday, July 19 with stops at Newtown, Pool Quay, Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Worcester and Gloucester along the way.

Mr Mannion said:

“Worcester Canoe Club have been incredibly supportive, in providing the Canadian canoe we are using, teaching us to canoe, and providing the training and equipment we need to get fit enough. We need to be getting our fitness up as much as possible. I used to in my teens but Jim has never canoed.