Top actor takes up desert challenge for dogs for the disabled

Leading British actor Brian Blessed is joining a desert trek in Jordan to raise funds to train puppies to become assistance dogs for disabled people.

The 70-year-old actor will trek nearly 100kms over five days from the Dead Sea to Petra on The Desert Walk ñ a charity event to raise funds for Dogs for the Disabled. There are places for up to 100 people to join him on the hike from 9 ñ 16 March 2008.

It will be a truly spectacular journey starting at the Dead Sea ñ the lowest point on earth ñ and finishing in the ancient red rock city of Petra. The group will trek with Bedouin guides through areas of amazing solitude and great beauty, sleeping in Bedouin tents or under the stars and covering terrain that is exciting and challenging.

Brian Blessed has had a distinguished career in theatre, film and television with roles in many films including Flash Gordon, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Star Wars. More recent credits are for roles in Kenneth Branaghís film of As You Like It, The Conclave, and in the original cast of the stage musical Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang.

The actor, who lives in Surrey, is a man who likes a challenge and has a great love of mountaineering. He has been on three expeditions to Mount Everest, reaching 28,000 feet in 1993 - the highest a man of his age has achieved without oxygen. He has also climbed the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere Aconcagua, explored The Lost World in Venezuela, completed a trek to the North Pole and most recently a climb to the summit of Mount Ararat in Turkey and an expedition to the highest mountains in Mongolia.

Brian said: ìI love walking, I love adventures and I love dogs. I also love the idea of hiking across the desert to the historic city of Petra in Jordan, so to be able to take part in The Desert Walk and raise money for a wonderful charity like Dogs for the Disabled at the same time is fantastic.î

Dogs for the Disabled enables more disabled people to live life to the full by providing them with an assistance dog. Every dog trained by the charity learns tasks such as picking up pens, opening doors, helping a person undress, even emptying the washing machine. For some people this help makes the difference between living alone and needing full-time care. But the benefits a dog can bring do not end with practical tasks. They also help build confidence, break down social barriers and provide companionship.

It costs thousands to train each dog from a young pup through to becoming a fully-fledged working animal and there are many disabled people who could benefit from having an assistance dog.

To join Brian Blessed on The Desert Walk you need to pay a registration fee of 250 and pledge to raise minimum funds of 2,500 for Dogs for the Disabled. For further information and an application form telephone event organisers Action for Charity on 0845 408 2698 or e-mail events@actionforcharity.co.uk