A TIVERTON paramedic faces his biggest challenge in a decade when he attempts to trek 50 miles across Dartmoor in a day in memory of a former Marine colleague who lost his legs in Afghanistan.

Rob Howe, 32, who works at the ambulance station in Tiverton, will be aiming to cover the distance in under 15 hours.

He will be accompanied by Christian Wiggin, 34, an Exeter paramedic who is also a former serviceman.

The pair are undertaking the challenge to raise money for Help For Heroes, which assists British soldiers wounded in conflict.

Rob spent around six years with Plymouth- based 42 Commando, serving in places such as Sierra Leone, Norway and Northern Ireland before coming out of the marines in 2001.

Rob explained: "I recently found out a good friend of mine had been involved in an explosion in Afghanistan and is now permanently disabled, so we felt we wanted to try and give something back."

Rob's friend Baz Barrett was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) and is currently receiving rehabilitation treatment at the specialist Headley Court centre.

The duo will start out from Okehampton army camp at 4am on Saturday, March 27. They hope to trek a route which will take them back to the start point before sunset.

Rob said: "The route is 50 miles as the crow flies, but because we are going over moorland terrain we will have to deviate to find tracks, so we will probably end up covering closer to 60 miles."

The trekkers will be carrying maps, compasses and rations but will have a one-man support team, meeting them at two locations during the day to give them food or medical supplies.

Rob said he was running five to six miles a day in preparation for the event and was also visiting Dartmoor regularly for moorland practice. He said: "I have not done anything as challenging as this in the nine years I have been out of the marines. The hardest thing I had to do in my training was the 30 miles across Dartmoor when the Royal Marines pass out, so I know how tough it can be. I'm looking forward to it, I have had these two stressful jobs, so it is great to have this challenge to focus on throughout the winter."

Colleagues from the ambulance station plus friends and family are hoping to meet the pair at the completion of their challenge.

Rob has a two-year-old son, and said despite having experienced the enormous sacrifices which servicemen could be required to give, he would be happy for his son to join the forces if that was what he wanted to do when he grows up.

Rob said the pair had received great support from colleagues in the ambulance service and he has also set up his own online donation page at www.justgiving.com/Robchristian50. They have set a target of raising £1,000 for the charity.