A fundraiser has swapped the north-east for the perils of kangaroos in Australia’s outback.
Gordon Cruden, the manager of Freedom Challenge Trust in the north-east, has launched a four-week challenge to cross the land down under on his motorcycle to try and raise the cash needed to purchase a home for women recovering from drug addiction.
His latest effort – part of the Buy Benaiah Campaign to raise £535,000 to buy the house near Mintlaw – comes after a series of challenges Mr Cruden has completed to fund the campaign.
It has included travelling across the US and Europe to sleeping rough in cities in the UK and not knowing where his next meal would come from.
Last night, he spoke after completing day one of his latest journey.
He said: ““One of the main problems is the kangaroos on the road. Because of them you aren’t able to leave at first light, you’ve got to wait for them to clear off. Everyone has been warning me about them coming out of nowhere at night on the road.”
On his travel through the country, Mr Cruden is being helped by the bikers of God’s Squad – an Australian motorcycle club which has chapters across the world.
Mr Cruden added: “They did an auction tonight to help us raise a bit of money, and they’ve had things online to highlight the challenge.
“We want to try and finish the Buy Benaiah challenge. We’re 95% of the way there, and hopefully when I fly back to the UK we will have bought Benaiah.”
So far, £507,637 has been raised for the Buy Benaiah campaign. To donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/buy-benaiah