A former Royal Navy chef is preparing to hit the road next month in a bid to raise hundreds of pounds for charity.
Andrew Laker, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, aims to cover 150 miles and take in the Forth Road, Kincardine and Tay Road Bridges.
Mr Laker, from Carnock, will be using a fleet of three electric mobility scooters, each with a range of about 20 miles.
He plans to complete the ultra-marathon in under 24 hours.
“I belong to the Fife Veterans’ Association,” he told The Courier.
“I have got a son in the army, a son-in-law in the RAF and a brother-in-law in the army.
“I could see what was happening to these guys out in Afghanistan and I just wanted to do my bit.”
Originally Mr Laker toyed with the idea of a jaunt from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, but admitted that was a bit ambitious.
“I had to make sure it was within the limits of my disability,” he said.
He will be using his own four-wheeled scooter and has borrowed two others from veterans’ charity Poppyscotland.
A support team from the 1st Battalion the Scots Guards in Edinburgh will carry the spares and make sure Mr Laker always has a fully-charged vehicle.
Due to the type of transport, he cannot take the direct route.
“I have got to avoid motorways and dual carriageways, so I can’t go straight from one bridge to the next,” he said.Long way round”I have got to go the long way around, which will take me up to Glenrothes and around all the small villages.
“Initially I thought it was a great idea then, once I’d committed to it, I thought, ‘Can I really do this?’
“But as it’s gone on and people have been so helpful and encouraging I’ve thought, ‘I can’t wait’.”
He will set off from the north end of the Forth Road Bridge at noon on August 11 and head for the Tay Road Bridge.
He will then turn for the Kincardine Bridge before heading back to North Queensferry.
Mr Laker aims to take about 20 hours all told.
He has already raised more than £500 and is hoping a bit of publicity will boost that figure.
He was joined at the Forth Road Bridge yesterday by Scots Guards soldiers, Dunfermline West MSP Jim Tolson and Marianne Lee, Poppyscotland community fund-raiser for the east of Scotland.
Mr Laker served with the Navy from 1974 to 1980 and was at one point based at HMS Caledonia in Rosyth.CreativeIt was while in Fife that he met his wife Irene, from Blairhall. The couple have been married for 33 years.
Marianne said, “Andy’s scooter challenge is a great example of how creative people can be with money-raising.
“The people of Fife are always hugely supportive of Poppyscotland and in the last year, outwith the Scottish Poppy Appeal, fund-raisers in Fife have raised well over £2000 through golf days, coffee mornings and swing dances.
“We wish Andy all the best and know that the local community will be 100% behind him to smash his fund-raising target.”
Mr Laker will be accepting donations en route, but has also set up a dedicated online fund-raising page.
Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/Three-Bridges.