A soldier has rounded up members of his former regiment for a challenging charity walk to raise money for the care of terminally ill children.

Sergeant Ross Murphy, 29, hopes to complete a 30-mile walk from Keswick to Workington with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment to raise money for Jigsaw Children's Hospice in Carlisle.

The group will set off from Keswick's Main Street on August 31 and work their way back to West Cumbria, crossing fells and passing landmarks.

They aim to complete the journey in about seven hours before a charity event at Workington Army Reserve Centre that night.

John Hoban Travel have offered the group the use of a coach for free to transport the walkers, while Cumbria's police and crime commissioner Peter McCall has been in touch about supporting the walk.

Sgt Murphy, who is from Workington, is also keen for some of the hospice's nurses to educate the walkers on what the hospice does.

"I am nervous because I haven't done anything like it before," he said.

"At the minute there are 40 of us and we've got sponsors coming in from all over.

"We set an initial target of £2,000 but we've smashed that already."

Sgt Murphy, who served with the regiment for 12 years, was inspired to raise money for a new soft play area after meeting young people from the hospice at Carlisle's Armed Forces Day parade in June.

"Some of the children came over and wanted to talk to us because we had our ceremonial dress on," he said.

"Three children came that day so we asked if it would be possible to go and visit the rest of them.

"We went up and saw them a couple of weeks ago and it was overwhelming, what these children go through.

"They're looking to build a soft play outside that would be wheelchair-friendly.

"It's amazing what the hospice does."