A POLICE constable has set himself the challenge of walking the Itex Walk not once but twice, in memory of a fellow officer who died of a heart attack earlier this year.

Bob Malet de Carteret (41), of Grouville, is hoping to raise £1,000 with the walk that will cover a staggering 96 miles.

He credits fellow officer Jayson Lee (38), a detective constable who died earlier this year while playing football, as his inspiration. A memorial football match for Mr Lee was played last night at Springfield.

Mr Malet de Carteret, a father of one, aims to walk the Itex route anti-clockwise before taking on the whole course again at the same time as all the other walkers.

Explaining why he is taking on such a massive challenge, he said: ‘I did the 2008 Itex Walk in 12 hours, placing me 38th, and I raised a couple of hundred pounds through family and friends. Jayson inspired me, and I wanted to do a fitness challenge and raise cash for charity at the same time.

‘But I decided that to get a bit more serious and wanted to set myself a personal challenge and do something a little different to make the effort worthwhile.

‘Itex supports local charities and all the money I raise goes to charities – this year it’s Jersey Mencap, the Anthony Nolan Trust and Holidays for Heroes (Jersey). I particularly want to raise awareness for Help for Heroes because it supports the rehabilitation of our troops on their return from active service having been injured.’

The officer, who has served with the States police for 20 years, would like potential advertisers to get in touch so that he can raise more cash by advertising their companies on his training gear, including his shorts and T-shirt.

Explaining how he got started, he said: ‘I discovered two years ago that I was two or three doughnuts over my fighting weight and was encouraged by two friends, Harriet and Darren Zaman, to get walking to lose a bit.

‘I started on the lanes of Grouville and St Martin and then progressed to the cliff paths, and started cycling, and now I average 20 miles a day. I will raise this to a 30-mile daily average in April and 40 in May and then in June ease off a bit. It is a physical challenge and something to achieve that is a bit different.’

The walk starts from the Elizabeth Terminal and takes in the entire Jersey coastline. It will be held on Saturday 20 June. Anyone wishing to sponsor Mr Malet de Carteret can call him on 07797 854387.

• Picture: Bob Malet de Carteret gets in some training on the cliff paths near White Rock. Picture by Rob Currie (00646407)