ADVENTURER James Abbott from Wyre Piddle is getting ready to take on the Artic.

The 29-year-old teacher, who will walk to the North Pole later in the year, admits friends think he has gone "up the pole".

James will spend three weeks pulling a sleigh 320 miles and sleeping under canvas.

He and two other explorers will face temperatures of -50C and polar bears as they bid to draw attention to global warming.

"It will be dangerous and the hardest thing I have ever done," said James, who has lived in the Vale all his life and is a former pupil of Pershore High School.

James and his companions will be among 50 other teams from all over the world taking part in the Polar Challenge.

"I am used to extreme conditions and have trained in Canada, Austria and Scotland but this will be tough.

"We have to pull all our own food and sleep in tents.

"The schedule is up to 30 miles a day. At least we will have 24-hour-a-day sunlight on our side."

The objective of the challenge is to highlight climate change and during the trek James will be doing work on carbon emissions.

"Our climate is changing and it is serious. We need to wake up and realise that we all can and must do something about it."

James, who is single, is spending £10,000 of his own money on the adventure although he hopes to recoup some of this in sponsorship.

The Polar Challenge starts on April 22. More information is available by visiting www.polarchallenge.com.