SETTING off on a 30-mile walk at 7am on a Saturday morning might sound like madness, but that's exactly what kind-hearted David O'Brien was planning to do today.

SETTING off on a 30-mile walk at 7am on a Saturday morning might sound like madness, but that's exactly what kind-hearted David O'Brien was planning to do today.

Mr O'Brien, 33, of Neptune Square, Ipswich, was due to embark on the trip from Bury St Edmunds to Ipswich to raise funds for the BBC's Children in Need.

He said: "I've been going to the gym a lot recently in an effort to lose a bit of weight and get healthy, and I just thought it would be a good idea to combine it with helping others."

Mr O'Brien, who is a project manager for NACAP in Needham Market, has been training six days a week for the last twelve weeks in preparation for his walk.

He expected to complete it in around six hours.

The only company he will have is that of a colleague who will be following him in their works truck. He said: "Everyone at work has been really supportive and a lot of the companies that I deal with in Ipswich have given generous donations."

So far he has raised nearly £500.