Two former city traders are set to walk 800 kilometres – almost 500 miles – from southern France to the western tip of northern Spain, in aid of those with motor neurone disease.

Friends Kevin Green and Seamus Hoole, both from West Malling, have raised more than £5,000 in advance of the Camino Frances walk, which they'll start on Wednesday and aim to complete in 30 days.

The intrepid duo swapped the high-octane world of trading for the more relaxed environment of the North Downs in 2020, when the pandemic hit and they both got made redundant.

But clearly they couldn't relax for too long. Afternoon strolls soon turned to 10-mile slogs, and before long the idea of a bigger charity challenge was raised.

Kevin, 65, said the walk would be a tough challenge but they remained optimistic about completing it – even though he says he'll be "officially be an old age pensioner" by the end.

"The route's not easy but a lot of people do it at various ages and take their time," he added. "We're doing it in 30 days, walking 25-30km each day, with three days off.

"Traditionally they stay in albergues – like a pilgrimage hostel – but I spent eight years in the army and I'm not doing that again!"

Instead they'll stay in pre-booked accommodation, but the walk will be far from easy.

Starting from St Jean Pied de Port in France, the ancient pilgrimage route will take the pals through the mountains of the Pyrenees, before heading west to the south of Bilbao and Santander – the city that shares its name with the bank where the friends both worked a few years ago.

The trek will end five weeks later, at the ancient city of Santiago de Compostela, the reputed resting place of St James in Spain’s extreme north-west corner.

Inspiration for the fundraising cause came from another old friend, Dave Setters, who has motor neurone disease and has campaigned relentlessly to raise awareness of the disease.

All funds raised will be going directly to MND research in an effort to find a cure for the condition, which affects the brain and nerves.

To support Kevin and Seamus, make a donation to the MND Association on their JustGiving page.

You can track their daily progress on their Facebook group page “Kevin & Seamus walking for MND”.

Although 50% of those diagnosed with MND sadly pass away within two years, some live for many years with the condition and there are treatments to help reduce its impact on those living with it.

Far from being a rare condition, the lifetime risk of getting it is 1 in 300, which means that 200,000 of the current UK population will die from MND, unless a cure is found.