When Otley man Martin McKeown left his job as a teacher in Japan, he decided that the return 6,000 mile journey home would be one to remember.

Martin took the brave decision to cycle all the way back to his Caxton Road home, taking in the sights of 18 countries including China, Thailand, Pakistan, Italy, France and Holland.

And not only is the 25-year-old having the trip of a lifetime, he is trying to raise as much money as possible for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

So far he has travelled more than 3,100 miles and has reached heights of 2,653 metres.

He set off at the start of August after his three-year job as an assistant language teacher came to an end.

Martin, who travels about 100 miles a day, will arrive in Otley in April next year, but the journey has been far from easy.

As well as having to sleep in petrol stations and truck stops when he couldn't put up his tent, he has struggled with the weight from the trailer he tows behind him.

But Martin's sister Kelly, 19, is not put off by his reports of hard work - she is considering joining him for one of the legs in the New Year.

Martin's journey can be tracked on the internet and he has been writing a diary of his adventures at every opportunity he has to access a computer.

At the start of his journey he wrote that his most terrifying moment was being chased by a dog.

He said: "As it got nearer it looked pretty filthy and hungry, so I decided to peg it as fast as I could but to my surprise the dog was left lagging behind and I soon discovered why - as I looked over my shoulder I discovered that it only had three legs!"

Parents Vanessa and Patrick McKeown, who live in Caxton Road, said they knew what Martin was planning to do when he first started teaching in Japan three years ago.

Mr McKeown said: "He told us what he was going to do, and we told him that if he was going to do it, why not raise money at the same time.

"He is mad, he must be, but he is a keen cyclist.

"He went to university in Aberdeen and when it was the end of term we would go and pick his things up and he would cycle back to Otley."

Martin's mum Vanessa told the Wharfedale Observer this week: "He has just left Darjeeling and he sent us a parcel of tea.

"We have been out to visit him and it was amazing out there, but we are looking forward to having him back.

"He wasn't going to raise money at first, it is just something that he wanted to do, but we said that he might as well raise money, so we are trying to let people know what he is doing."

People can track Martin's progress by logging on to http://www.an-gelfire.com/trek/japan-uk-cycle/route.html

To make a donation please send a cheque made payable to Japan-UK-Cycle to 49 Caxton Road, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 3LL.

Sponsorship forms for the trek are available from that address or from the Wharfedale and Airedale Observer offices in 9 Orchard Gate, Otley.