TWO Scouts officials from Bradford are about to start on the second leg of a marathon fundraising effort for Cancer Research UK.

Nathan Allatt, 19, from Idle, and Sarah Faulkner, 29, from Thackley, whose families have both been affected by the illness (in Nathan's case his grandad, in Sarah's case her dad), raised £645 two years ago by cycling from Liverpool to Scarborough over a weekend.

Now Nathan, a district youth commissioner with the 4th Bradford North Scouts, and Sarah, assistant district commissioner Cubs with the 29th Bradford North Scouts, hope to up that amount to £2,000 by swimming four stretches of water in the Lake District.

First up for assistant accountant Nathan and Sarah, a youth co-ordinator with the Clarion Futures team at Clarion Housing, is Crummock Water on Sunday.

That is 2.5 miles long, and then Bassenthwaite (3.8 miles, July 5), Coniston (5.4 miles, August 12) and Windermere (10.4 miles, September 22-23) will be tackled – a total distance of 22 miles (36km), which is the equivalent of swimming the English Channel.

Sarah said: "Please dig deep and help support us through this mammoth challenge.

"We have been doing lots of weekly training and practices in open water leading up to the main events (including Gaddings Dam near Todmorden), and this is a massive challenge for a charity that is close to both our hearts."

Donations can be made to their just giving page at justgiving.com/fundraising/nathan-allatt