ADVENTURER Norman Butler is leaving for Canada today to make last minute preparations for a walk across the North Pole.

Norman, 38, from Westlea, will be tested mentally and physically during his 400-mile trek from Resolute Bay to the magnetic North Pole as part of the Polar Race competition.

During 2001, a rowing trip across the Atlantic nearly ended in disaster.

Firstly, Norman's boat, the Spirit of Swindon was struck by a ship. Then a bout of food poisoning forced his team mate to withdraw from the competition after being airlifted off the boat, leaving Norman to row the last 100 miles.

Norman has put himself through a gruelling training schedule so that he can take part in the competition, which has been organised with the help of Swindon-born adventurer David Hempleman-Adams.

Preparations have included acclimatising to the cold weather by spending time exercising in an enormous freezer, and pulling a pair of car tyres for 24 hours at Wroughton Airfield to simulate pulling a 70kg sled for that amount of time.

The Arctic trip is expected to take around 30 days.

Before leaving, Mr Butler said he was inspired by sportsmen such as Sir Steven Redgrave and even his old PE teacher, Roger Ramsbottom, and hopes to provide inspiration to others.

Norman will not be alone though, other teams will be hot on his heels.

One of them will be the Polar Team, made up of champion jockey Richard Dunwoody and ex-army commando Tony Martin.

He plans to leave a mark at the top of the world by holding a celebration at the finish line to greet his team mates.