King's Lynn Rotarian's drive to help put an end to polio

A member of a Rotary club in Lynn is set to take on a charity road trip around the country next week.

Ron Jackson, 87, will be accompanied by his daughter Susan Havery for the journey which will see them reach 12 out of the 24 checkpoints on the Purple4Polio Rotary Grand Tour.

Mr Jackson, who is a member of the Rotary Club of King's Lynn, will set off on Monday to Corby in Northamptonshire.

The venture will see the pair head as far north as Glasgow and St Andrews before returning south via Halifax, the final checkpoint where teams will meet on Thursday.

Mr Jackson said: "The idea is to raise awareness of and funds for Rotary's attempt to wipe out polio from the world, and we're nearly there."

He said members of Rotary Clubs around the country will be driving to the designated checkpoints to promote the campaign.

"It's almost like a car rally but there's no time limit on it," Mr Jackson added.

He said he and Susan have done "an awful lot" of driving together in the past, including the Alps in September.

Mr Jackson's fundraising has reached £300 so far, thanks to donations from members of the Rotary Club of King's Lynn, but he hopes to continue gaining sponsors ahead of the trip.

"I'm expecting Rotary clubs in East Anglia to sponsor me, as we have got about 60 clubs in the district and I will be representing them," he added.

"I'm looking forward to it now. I've been between looking forward and worrying for a while, but now I've got my route and my hotels signed up, I'm up for it."

Rotary and its members have been working for more than 30 years in a bid to eradicate polio across the world.

The association's pledge for a polio-free world was made in 1985 when there were 125 polio-endemic countries, with hundreds of new cases daily.

As of last year, there were only 22 cases in the world.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Mr Jackson should call him on 07813 937071.