A GP is to live his dream of becoming an Arctic survivor after signing up to an adventure challenge in aid of the Butterwick Hospice.

Matt Garget, 35 and from Eppleby, near Richmond, is aiming to raise thousands of pounds for the Stockton-based hospice when he travels 150km south of the Arctic circle next spring.

He is a keen reader of books by explorers such as Ranulph Fiennes and knew the challenge was for him after his wife showed him an advertisement for it.

Dr Garget, who practices at Stillington, near Stockton, will spend a week in sub-zero temperatures – some expected to be as extreme as minus 30 degrees celcius – in northern Sweden.

The first part of the challenge is adjusting to life in the extreme environment and learning how to travel, find food, light fires, catch their own food and build shelters.

Then a three-day survival phase will put the explorers' training to the test.

Dr Garget will move away from the log cabin, which has no electricity, to construct his own accommodation each night, along with his fellow fundraisers.

They will pitch a Scandanavian tent one night, an A-frame shelter built from the trees around them the next, and the final night in a snow hole, where one member of the team will have to stay awake all night watching a candle to ensure it stays lit and the rest of the team have sufficient oxygen in the hole.

The explorers will also be taught how to cross-country ski as well as snow shoeing, ice fishing, husky sledding and snowmobiling.

Dr Garget, 35, said: "I so regularly see first-hand the amazing services offered by the Butterwick locally and am so keen to get the message out there. I was chuffed to be accepted to take part in the challenge.

“The Butterwick has been an invaluable resource to many of my patients and their families, and it’s also a wonderful resource for medical professionals in the area,”

He now has to raise at least £3,600 for the Butterwick to take part in the challenge.

The Butterwick Hospice’s work in improving the quality of life for those with a progressive life limiting illness, and those close to them, relies largely on donations.

Now, having pledged to raise such an ambitious sum, Dr Garget is planning a series of fundraising events which will help to safeguard the care provided by the hospice for local patients and their families.

He is looking for donations of raffle prizes for a fundraising event and can also be supported by visiting his Virgin money giving sponsorship page on http://bit.ly/DrMatttotheArctic