A BRITTLE bone disease sufferer is taking on the challenge of a lifetime as he prepares to wheelchair the length of the Leeds Liverpool canal in 48 hours.

Hairdresser Simon Townley, 25 is gearing up for the 70 mile trip with his colleagues at Burnley Salon DJST hairgroup in Yorkshire Street, who will be cycling alongside him.

The team hopes to raise £1,000 for the Brittle Bone Society, which provides support, advice and equipment to people who suffer from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta, is a genetic condition present from birth in which the sufferer has weak and fragile bones due to a lack of or poor quality collagen, which means that bones are liable to fracture any time, even without trauma.

The nine-strong team will set off from Leeds on August 29 with an overnight stay at a halfway point near Blackburn before finishing their challenge in Liverpool.

Simon said: “I’ve never done anything like this before. I still don’t really understand the magnitude of the challenge that we will be faced with.

“The idea came to me one morning a few weeks ago. I’m not going away on holiday this year so thought it would be a good idea to try to do something for charity.

“There is not much that I can really do as a challenge because of my condition, so I thought that this would be ideal.

“At the moment we are all quite unfit so we will need to hit the gym hard. We are just hoping that the weather holds out and we can keep each other motivated - it will be physically exhausting but will also be a mental battle.”

To donate to the cause visit http://www.justgiving.com/Djst or visit DJST hairgroup in Yorkshire Street, Burnley.