A TEAM of celebrities including singer Olly Murs and presenter Dermot O'Leary has been warned to look out for deadly snakes on their charity trek across the desert.

Nine famous faces, including Witham’s X Factor star Murs and former Colchester Sixth Form Student O’Leary, have embarked on a three-hour acclimatisation trek ahead of the start of their journey across the Kaisut Desert in northern Kenya.

They will cover 100km in five days and face temperatures of up to 40C to raise money for Comic Relief.

The celebs have been given a talk on the deadly creatures they might encounter, such as the Black Mamba snake and the fast-moving Camel spider.

O'Leary said: "We've had a practice walk to try and get used to the heat but it's going to be very tough.

“The snake and spider briefing was interesting to say the least! It's safe to say that we will be watching where we tread."

The celebrities also visited a sight clinic on the eve of the trek, where they met people from the local area who received treatment for cataracts and trachomas.

The team’s other members are singer Craig David, presenter Lorraine Kelly, Strictly Come Dancing champion Kara Tointon, Radio 4 presenter Peter White, impressionist Ronni Ancona, actress Nadia Sawalha and radio presenter Scott Mills.

A documentary about the trek will be broadcast on BBC1 in the run-up to Red Nose Day on March 18.