TWO friends are swapping their cricket pads for walking boots to raise money for a cancer charity.

Peter Eckels, 50, and Colin Cartwright, 34, who play for Darlington RA Cricket Club, are planning a trek along a stretch of the Great Wall of China to raise £10,000.

They will walk for eight or nine hours a day on the nine-day trip, in October.

The money raised will go towards Maggie's Centres, a Scottish charity for cancer sufferers and their families.

Father-of-one Mr Cartwright, a finance officer for Darlington Borough Council, decided to do the walk in memory of his mother, Margaret, who died of breast cancer aged 42, when he was two.

He said: "Peter and I were just talking one day and both realised we wanted to do something, so decided to do it together.

"I lost my mum to cancer and Peter had skin cancer a couple of years ago. We are both fairly fit from the cricket and other sports, but we have got a training programme that we are trying to complete."

To sponsor the pair, call Mr Cartwright on 07790 762353.