A WHITEHILL facilities manager will set off on his motorbike on Sunday to complete a seven-day tour of Britain to raise money for Diabetes UK.

With two friends and a new Suzuki DL650OXT, Mark Thompson will depart from Liss to begin the 2,000-mile challenge. The group will ride 264 miles before stopping at Land’s End on the Cornish coast.

On the second day they will ride 445 miles to Buxton in the Peak District. On day three they will cross the Scottish border and clock another 330 miles to Glencoe before heading on to Eddrachilles for day four. On days five and six, they will ride to Fort George in the Highlands before heading back down to Otterburn, Northumberland. They will finish with a final 335-mile flourish back to Hampshire on the seventh day.

Setting himself a £2,000 target, Mark and his friends will raise money for Diabetes UK, the Hampshire Air Ambulance, Pancreatic Cancer UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Mark, 53, was diagnosed with type-one diabetes aged just six. He said: “It’s the first time I’ve done something like this, but I thought as a keen motorcyclist it would be a unique way to raise money for Diabetes UK which is a charity close to my heart.

To sponsor Mark, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-thompson87.