A hospital is set to receive £5,000 if a businessman manages to complete a walk in nine days.

Peter Young plans to walk the length of the Thames Path from the source of the River Thames in Kemble, Gloucestershire, to the Thames Barrier in London.

The route is just short of 200 miles and is the longest man-made path in Europe.

Mr Young, from Withdean, Brighton, will take on the challenge on Monday to raise funds to refurbish 14 rooms in the paediatric unit of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, where parents and relatives stay when their children are treated at the specialist cardiac hospital.

Mr Young has already raised £40,000 for the hospital, which has a special place in his own heart.

In 1982 his baby son was taken there for emergency treatment.

Sadly, despite a heart operation, their baby died.

Mr Young said: "He underwent heart surgery but unfortunately didn't survive.

"The staff and nurses are unbelievably good and I wanted to support the hospital."

He plans to work towards raising a substantial amount of cash to pay for the £75,000 needed to refurbish the rooms in which parents can stay.