Raising money is snow joke for a 61-year-old who is set to make history.

Paul Tucker is heading off to Switzerland to ride the Cresta Run at St Moritz, a well-known toboggan course.

Looking for sponsors - Paul Tucker, who will be part of the team to do the Cresta Run Picture: ADRIAN RUSHTON

He will be part of a team of ten from the region's Royal British Legion (RBL) who are hoping to raise £50,000 for the Poppy Appeal by doing solo toboggan runs.

Mr Tucker and the team will be making history because this is the first time the St Moritz Tobogganing Club has allowed anyone to use to use the run to raise funds for the charity since it was built in 1884.

Mr Tucker is a county field officer at the RBL's Chelmsford offices and will be representing Essex in the challenge.

The three-quarters of a mile ice run winds down a steep gully through ten steeply banked bends.

He will face speeds of up to 80 mph as he goes head first down the run on a solo toboggan, with only serrated metal toecaps acting as brakes.

But Mr Tucker, from Mersea, is more excited than worried.

"It's a new challenge and I hope we will get a lot of sponsorship from it," said Mr Tucker.

Published Friday January 16, 2004

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