DAREDEVIL brothers Lee and Karl Johnston will today launch their joint bid to bring Olympic glory to the region.

They will be taking a white-knuckle ride for Britain when they play key roles in the four-man bobsleigh, which gets under way this afternoon in Italy.

And as the brothers, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, hurtle along at breakneck speed, they will also be closely watched by their comrades in the elite Royal Marines.

Lee, a veteran of the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, has already flirted with success in this year's Alpine extravaganza.

As the driver in the two-man bobsleigh event last weekend, he and brakeman Dan Humphries, an RAF Senior Aircraftsman, recorded the seventh-fastest time in the second heat, although blizzard conditions meant they finished 15th overall.

Today they will be joined by Karl and fellow Royal Marine Martin Wright for the four-man event. Lee, 33, and Karl, 27, grew up in Whitby and developed their love of white-knuckle thrill rides during childhood trips to Blackpool.

And among those they are hoping to impress in Turin is their mother, Helen, who has flown out with husband Keith to see them in action.

Lee admitted he got into bobsleighing by chance, but described it as the ultimate rollercoaster ride.

He said: "We travel at speeds of up to 90mph, 4in from the floor, and while a rollercoaster only lasts between 20 and 40 seconds, the average bobsleigh track is over 50 seconds long."

With his love of adventure, Lee knew what he wanted to become from an early age and joined the Royal Marines straight after finishing at Whitby Community College.

Younger brother Karl took a longer route, studying at the College of Ripon and York St John before joining the Marines, where he is a captain.

But rank plays no part in things when it comes to the bob.

Karl said: "Lee is the boss on the bobsleigh, even if things do change when we are back at work."