A SUFFOLK postman will be hiking in Peru alongside ex-Spandau Ballet star Tony Hadley.David Buckley is one of 65 walkers from across the country raising funds for Action Research, a medical research company.

A SUFFOLK postman will be hiking in Peru alongside ex-Spandau Ballet star Tony Hadley.

David Buckley is one of 65 walkers from across the country raising funds for Action Research, a medical research company.

Mr Buckley, 46, from Mill Lane, Somersham, has already raised £3,000 and will be walking for 65 miles in high altitude conditions.

He said: "I saw it advertised in a national newspaper so I sent off for an information pack. I have always liked walking but this is going to be totally different.

"It is a fabulous part of the world and somewhere I have always liked. It is for a good cause and that is all that matters."

Mr Buckley will be leaving for Peru on Thursday. He will spend one day in Lima before going to Cusco. He and the rest of the group will be there for one day to acclimatise to the conditions before the trek begins.

The Suffolk postie will be walking 13 miles a day for the next five days, before returning to England on Saturday, May 17. The group is made up of people from their mid 20s to early 60s.

Mr Buckley has never done anything like this before but is relishing the challenge.

He said: "I have been walking home from my work in Ipswich every day since June and that is about eight miles. "On a scale of one to ten of tough things, this will be a nine.

"My friends think I'm mad, but you have to be positive.

We have had one get together just running through the conditions and we got told what to expect."

Tony Hadley, a recent winner of ITV's Reborn in the USA programme, is part of the group.

Mr Buckley said: "I think something has happened in his personal life through illness and this is a way of him giving something back to the charity."

"Personally, I like the variation of treatment that Action Research investigate and it researches into everything you could think of."

If you would like to sponsor Mr Buckley you can contact him on 01473 830146.