AN OKEHAMPTON police officer and his two brothers are busy in training for a trek of more than 200 miles from Lincoln to Exeter this summer.

Neighbourhood Officer for Okehampton Matt Evans, 42, his brother Barry, 45, who lives in Okehampton and is the manager of a care home in Plymouth for young people with learning difficulties, and his other brother, Steve, 47 who lives in Cullompton and works as a fingerprint expert for the police at Exeter, have set themselves the challenge to walk the 230-mile Fosse Way Roman Road from Lincoln to Exeter in support of two charities.

The trio will start the walk on May 13 and are hoping to get to Exeter by May 22. They are aiming to raise money for the British Limbless Ex Service Men's Association (BLESMA) and the Anthony Nolan Trust, which helps people with blood cancer.

Matt, who has been in the police for elmost eleven years, said: 'Last May I heard the Fosse Way mentioned while at work and it rang a bell but I couldn't quite place it. I Googled it when I got home that evening and was quite taken by the idea of walking the whole length of it.

' I had been wanting to do a charity event for a while but was short on ideas and suddenly this seemed like the thing to do. I emailed both my brothers and suggested we do a charity walk and they both replied, saying they wanted in.'

Matt said he chose to support BLESMA because he spent ten years in the Royal Artillery and was aware of the fantastic work the charity does with limbless veterans.

'Steve had some involvement in the past with the Anthony Nolan Trust, where he had been found to be a match for someone and had been to a London hospital to have platelets taken from his blood in a process called apheresis. He was keen to continue to help them so we decided that we would raise money for these two charities.'

The trio will also be carrying a baton from the charity http://www.thebaton.co.uk">www.thebaton.co.uk, which is dedicated to helping members of the armed forces and ex-members. They will be taking it with them on their journey just as it goes around the world with various people or units from the armed forces, in the hope that they can raise awareness of the organisation.

In preparation for the trek, Matt and Barry are taking part in a couple of half marathons. Steve is getting used to walking long distances and prefers this for his training.

The walk will start in Lincoln on May 13, with the men travelling up the day before. They will walk an average of more than 20 miles a day for ten days before getting back to Exeter, where they hope to finish at the police headquarters on Wednesday, May 22.

They have overnight accommodation with various people, mainly in the military community — TA centres, Army Barracks, a bed and breakfast and with a Brigadier.

Anyone who would like to support Matt, Barry and Steve in their venture can do so by visiting their Just Giving websites at http://www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Evans10">www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Evans10 (Anthony Nolan page) or http://www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Evans11">www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Evans11 (BLESMA page).