TWO friends are preparing to walk 150 miles to raise more than £1,000 for the street children of Brazil.

Fred Uttley, of Simonstone, and John Cowell, of Cliviger, are flying out to Spain tomorrow to do the Camino to Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage, which ends up at the shrine of St James the Greater.

The pair hope to raise more than £1,000 for CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, and in particular the charity's campaign to help street children of Brazil.

Fred, of Simonstone Lane, has been doing voluntary work for CAFOD for six years and travels round local schools telling them about the charity's work. Last year he was involved in arranging for Burnley FC to donate football strips to CAFOD to help former child soldiers in Liberia regain their lost childhood.

The 59-year-old plumber said: "There are eight million street children in Brazil and 42 million children there who live on just 62p a day. The money we raise will be helping them."

Fundraising runs in the family for John, 65, of Glen View Road, whose mother, Winifred, who died in April, spent many years raising vital funds for several charities.

He said: "I had been thinking of donating money I raised from the walk to a different charity, but just before she passed away my mother told me to do it for CAFOD. It was a promise I made to her and she started the fundraising by giving us £150. Now we are well on the way to raising more than £1,000."

Fred and John believe it will take them about 10 days to complete the pilgrimage and they have been training hard in the hills around Cliviger for the last few months.

The pilgrimage in northern Spain, which dates back to the 9th Century, is still very popular, especially during holy years when up to 70,000 people make the journey to Santiago de Compostella.

To make a donation towards Fred and John's effort, call 01282 773032.