CHIPPENHAM man Lee Churchill is tackling a 1,700-mile round-trip in his 32-year-old Land Rover, named after his grandmother, who left him the money to buy it.

The 46-year-old will travel from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and back again in his 1984 Land Rover Defender while raising money for charities Sightsavers and Great Dane Care.

“I’m very excited about doing it but I’m also apprehensive as it is a long way to go in an old vehicle,” said Mr Churchill, who is manager at Acorns Pre-School in Kington St Michael.

“I use it for everyday transport. This is my first Land Rover but I’ve always wanted one and it was paid for by the money my grandmother, Phyllis, had left behind when she died so it’s a very personal thing to me and hence why I named it after her.”

Mr Churchill will begin his challenge along with almost 250 people in a range of other 4x4 vehicles on July 27, having rebuilt the Land Rover three years ago and owned it for 12 years.

Money raised will go to charity Sightsavers, which works in developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness, and Great Dane Care, which helps to rehome Great Dane dogs.

“It’s going to be a pretty much direct route and when we get up in Scotland we are going to take some alternative routes off-road,” said Mr Churchill, who lives with his wife Sam, 46, and two children, Freya, aged 12 and Doyle, aged 10.

“I chose Sightsavers because I have got a nephew with a degenerative eye condition and my wife had to have a cataracts operation which was quite a shock. You appreciate the fact how important sight is. We’ve also rehomed three Great Danes so I wanted to give something to them.”

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