A WREXHAM man is trekking 100km across the Sahara desert - four years after breaking his back in a motorcycle accident.

David Richards, from Cefn Mawr, is taking on the incredible feat in February in aid of military charity Walking With The Wounded - one close to his heart.

David, 61, served 24 years in the Royal Welch Fusiliers - and is a veteran of conflicts in Northern Ireland and The Falklands.

And now the father-of-two is walking across part of the world's driest place in aid of the charity - which not only assists in the the physical and mental wounds of serving and ex members of the armed forces, but also helps families and the finding of employment when needed.

The Leader:

David, who is now an Openreach telephone engineer, will be part of a 14-man team which will have to battle temperatures up to 40 degrees celsius in the day, and sub-zero temperatures at night.

He said of the challenge in front of him: "I'm obviously nervous - but they're good nerves as it's a kind of once in a lifetime thing.

"The temperatures will obviously be the major battle - literally going from one extreme to the other.

"I'm heading out to Marrakesh on February 8 and from there we'll be heading out to the Sahara, the trek will take us four days."

The Leader:

And David's trek is made all the more amazing by the fact that just four years ago, he broke his back and suffered multiple other injuries after falling off his motorcycle.

He said: "Since the accident heading out to the mountains and places like that has helped massively with both physical and mental recovery - so this is just a step up from that."

David has already raised over £2,000 as part of the fundraiser - which can be donated to here.

He added: "All the travel and equipment costs have already been paid for, so 100 per cent of every donation will go to the charity."