Jessica Broadhurst, who is about to start a PhD in Prostate Cancer, and Lorna Hodgson, a PhD student in the School of Biochemistry, will set off on their 1000-mile bike ride on Saturday 28 August.

The pair, who are raising money for Educ Aid, a charity which provides free education among the underprivileged and war affected young people of Sierra Leone, plan to cycle 70 miles a day and reach John O’Groats in Scotland on 11 September.

Lorna said: “The main reason we are embarking on this challenge is to raise money for EducAid, which provides education in Sierra Leone, a country struggling to recover after a devastating civil war, which has left countless children orphaned.

“Sierra Leone is the country with the highest rate of infant mortality, where one in four children don’t live to see their fifth birthday. Medical treatment is inaccessible to the poor, resulting in an alarming number of children dying due to preventable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea and malnutrition.

“EducAid runs four schools in different parts of Sierra Leone, educating around a thousand children. It aims to educate children, teaching against the corruption, which plagues the country, helping Sierra Leone to move forward.”

Jessica said: “We are looking forward to the challenge and have been training for several months, last weekend we cycled from London to Bristol. We have now added hill training into evenings after work to prepare ourselves for the journey.”

For anyone who would like to support the pair, donations can be made through the Justgiving.com website.