POLAR bears and temperatures as low as -40C await a Keighley man taking part in a gruelling race to the North Pole.

Stef Hopkins, pictured, is tackling the Polar Challenge -- dubbed the toughest race in the world -- to raise funds for the rescue charity he founded.

Competitors have to ski 350 miles, hauling all their equipment and supplies on sledges, across some of the globe's most difficult and dangerous terrain in temperatures as low as -40C.

The aim is to complete the challenge, and reach the Magnetic North Pole, in 15 to 25 days. Twenty teams will be taking part.

Stef -- together with a team-mate Ed West and possibly a third colleague -- aim to raise between £50,000 and £100,000 through sponsorship for Gloucestershire-based SARAID (Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters), whose volunteers have helped at the scenes of numerous disasters across the world.

They will leave Britain on April 4 for Resolute Bay in northern Canada, where they will spend a week undergoing High Arctic training. Teams will then have a four-day journey by ski to reach the race start line -- even at this stage, competitors frequently drop out.

During the race itself around 16 hours a day will be spent on the move.

Stef, 40, a former pupil of Greenhead School in Keighley, says weather conditions and polar bears could pose the biggest threat.

He told us: "We go through 'Polar Bear Alley', which is described as the M25 for polar bears. Generally the animals are not a problem but we can't take any chances - they can stand up to nine feet tall and a single paw can be equivalent in size to four men's hands, and we may be viewed as prey - so each team is armed with a shotgun. Clearly we hope we don't need to use it.

"The extreme cold poses a major risk. If your skin becomes exposed you will have frostbite within minutes.

"We will have to carry with us everything we need to survive - from tents and cookers to food and communications equipment. Every single item is invaluable, so we will not be able to afford to lose anything. There will be a rescue team, but it could take a day or two for it to reach us."

He will be compiling video and audio diaries, and the team's progress can be charted through the Polar Challenge web site - www.polar-challenge.com.

Stef has been following an intensive training regime for about the past three months, which has involved a lot of work on mountains, daily visits to the gym and dragging tyres around to get accustomed to heavy loads.

He and Ed have also received help in their preparations from the University of Gloucestershire, utilising its environmental chamber, which can cool to -45C, and being given assistance with other issues such as sports psychology and diet. Next month they travel to Austria to receive specialist skiing tuition from British Marines.

Stef says that although the challenge ahead is huge, training is going well and he is feeling quite confident.

"I have lost two stones while training and I'm fitter now than I have been for many years, but it's not all about fitness," he said.

"Although you're in a team it's you against the challenge itself, and it's 80 per cent psychological and 20 per cent fitness.

"I will be operating to the extremes of my endurance and it is a way of putting myself in the sort of demanding situation faced by the people our charity tries to help, but the difference is I have a choice."

It costs each team £10,000 to take part in the challenge. Every penny coined in through sponsorship towards the target £50,000 to £100,000 will go to SARAID.

He hopes much of the support will come from corporate backers, but he would appreciate the help of anyone willing to fundraise or collect sponsors on his behalf. Companies offering £2,000-plus in donations will be given the chance to have flags bearing their logos displayed, and photographed, at the North Pole.

Contact Stef by e-mail on stefanhopkins@hotmail.com or by phone on 07721 618705.