A 38-year-old man has quit his job to raise £1million for Cancer Research UK by walking 12,500 miles around the world.

Mark Cundy, of High Street, Shoebury, finished as a finance company training manager two weeks ago and began full-time training for the walk, which will take him through 543 towns, villages and cities across four continents.

He will set off from the gates of Buckingham Palace on October 29.

Mr Cundy said: "You can become very closeted in your own world through your career and the daily grind.

"I think people should have different experiences, see different cultures and get a better understanding of what there is out there."

He plans to walk across France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Russia, Japan, Australia, and the USA, before returning to England around April 2006.

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