A Bradford businessman, who has travelled to Kenya to help save endangered rhinos, is now preparing to run the London Marathon in aid of an animal welfare charity.

Dave Thornes, owner of Ladyroyd Garage in Thornton Road, will pound the streets of the capital with wife Fiona and daughter Jeanette Breeds in a bid to raise £6,000 for the Tusk Trust.

Two years ago Mr Thornes, 60, and business associate John Green, of Rydam Universal in Leeds, visited the Ol Pejeta Conservancy to show rangers how to use a specially-adapted truck to transport rhinos across the reserve and were filmed for the BBC’s Last Chance to See, a series on endangered species hosted by Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine.

The businessmen had spent £50,000 creating the vehicle, which has been used to support a rhino breeding programme at the reserve.

Mr Thornes, who hopes to return to Kenya again soon to help at the conservancy, said: “Rhinos are one of the last big mammals left on the planet and they are being poached in their hundreds each day.

“Twenty years ago there were thousands and thousands of them, we are now down into the hundreds. There won’t be any left in the world soon. If you want to see a rhino, the only place will be in a zoo. It’s a catastrophe on a large scale.”

Rhinos are targeted by poachers for their horns, which are believed in some cultures to have healing properties and are also used to create ornamental goods.

The animals’ faces are butchered in order for the horns to be retrieved, said Mr Thornes, who was shocked to learn last month of the slaughter of Max, a six-year-old white rhino at Ol Pejeta, who was also featured on Last Chance To See. Rangers had removed most of his horn as a protective measure but he was killed for the small piece still remaining.

To sponsor Mr Thornes and his family, go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ LadyroydGarage.