AN ARDENT Lakes-born England football fan has today begun an epic 1,966km walk to the 2014 Brazilian World Cup.

Windermere-born David Bewick along with his pals Pete Johnston and Adam Burns - known as The Three Lions - are attempting to set a Guinness World Record with their trek, while also raising £20,000 for the Josefina de Vasconcellos Arts Care Trust.

The money will enable the charity to build a water well in Bahia, north east Brazil, a place which is suffering its worst draught in over 50 years.

In January, David and Pete visited the Josefina Gallery in Waterside, Kendal, to highlight their fundraising bid.

David’s links with the Josefina de Vasconcellos Arts and Care Trust were forged when chairperson Santa Tattersall showed him around Rio de Janeiro when he was backpacking there in 2005.

The former Lakes School student, now based in Australia, said: “When the Brazil World Cup came around we had the idea we could do something with Santa and we started thinking about what we could do to raise money.

“We needed something we could do on a budget and the cheapest way of getting to the World Cup was to walk. It’s an idea that’s slowly grown and now it’s become real.”

The three lads set off from Mendoza in Argentina this morning and will walk for around100 days through Argentina, Uruguay and finally into Brazil for the start of the World Cup on June 12.