Two men from Buckfastleigh have left Devon to ride more than 1,000 miles for the ShelterBox Pakistan Flood appeal, writes Dawn Ellis

Matt Ireland and Jake Turbett caught the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff last week and are now cycling through France, to Italy and will end their fundraiser in Genoa.

'We will be trying to survive along the way with whatever equipment we can carry on the bikes, a few Euros for food. We have an extremely limited knowledge of either the French or Italian languages,' said Matt shortly before leaving.

They decided to organise the challenge after hearing the news about the floods in Pakistan.

'More than 1,600 people are reported to have died with that number likely to rise,' said Jake.

'About 20 million people are believed to have been affected by the floods which may worsen as further rain falls and water moves downstream.

'In the aftermath of the floods there is a serious risk to survivors from potentially deadly diseases which will spread as a result of contaminated surface and drinking water, as well as the widely damaged crops of the land.'

The pair have been friends for many years and both went to Buckfastleigh Primary School and South Dartmoor Community College together.

Both of them will be going back to full time study in September. Matt will read architectural technology at Brighton University and Jake sports science at University of East London.

They got the idea for the fundraiser from Jake's mother, Virginia, who raised £700 on one new year's eve for the Tsunami, and Matt's mum, Helen, was part of the team in Scoriton that raised £10,000 (plus the Gift Aid) for Haiti in March.

For more information, go to the website http://www.justgiving">www.justgiving .com/mattandjakestour defrance.