Mark's epic bid to beat heart disease

A soldier is following in the famous footsteps of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen to raise thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation.

Mark Langridge (pictured right), who served for ten years with 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment, is aiming to trek across Antartica to the South Pole and back, on his own - and totally unsupported by anyone else - in 80 days or less.

Mark's cold weather experience was gained during several winter tours of Norway on NATO exercises, together with operations in mountainous areas of other countries. He is still serving with the regular Army.

The expedition, whose patron is Prince Charles, is due to start on 1 November 2008, and Mark will also be raising money for Debra, a charity for people with the genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa, and Cancer Research UK.

To find out more about Mark's epic fundraising effort and how you can support him visit his website here