Intrepid 77-year-old Jack Smith is preparing to go to the wall - the Great Wall of China.

He plans a 300-mile cycle ride there and back from Beijing, in aid of Mencap this summer, once he has got his strength up.

Mr Smith, of Selwyn Road, Southend, is suffering from gout, but is on the mend and looking forward to hill-training for the trip with the help of the gradient up Essex Way.

He has saddled up and cycled hundreds of miles in the past in aid of charity.

Last year he cycled 300 miles along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan, and the year before, he covered 300 miles in Israel.

These trips raised a combined total of more than £6,500 for charity. He said: "I had four heart attacks in 1980 when I lived in London.

"I thought I must go for a bike ride because I was getting bored with convalescing. At the time I lived in Herne Hill and before I knew it, I had ridden 20 miles to Heathrow.

"I had to cycle the 20 miles home again, and decided if I could manage that, I might as well go from London to Brighton."

This trip in the wind and the rain - just around four months after his heart operation - took him nine hours, and he had a puncture just as he reached the sign saying: "Welcome to Brighton."

Later he signed up for official London to Brighton cycle ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation and has now clocked up 19 London to Brighton runs.

As news of his cycling stamina spread, Mr Smith, who moved to Southend in 1989, was asked to take part in the Mencap fundraising trip up the Nile.

This first destination was postponed till the following year because of turmoil in the area, and the route was switched to go through the Negev desert to Eilat, Israel instead.

For this year's trip, the valiant cyclist has already raised £2,000 and just needs another £500 to achieve his target.

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