FOUR football-mad South Lakeland men have embarked on their own 'Road to Wembley' as they aim to raise money in memory of young fan of the game who caught the hearts of the nation.

Craig Campbell, John Wharton and Alan Robinson, all of Kendal, and Holme's Paul Hine, plan to go to a game during every round of this year's FA Cup while raising funds for the Bradley Lowery Foundation.

But there is a twist to their tournament tour. They decided to pick ball number one from the draw of the first preliminary round, and follow the winner of each tie from there.

Fortunately for them, it started locally as the saw Penrith FC beat West Auckland Town. Penrith were drawn against Whitley Bay in the next round, and they will follow the winners of that tie from there. That formula will continue until they reach the Wembley showpiece final in May.

Mr Campbell said the idea came about as they wanted to visit more football grounds around the country.

"It's just four football fans wanting to do something a bit different and raise a bit of money for charity at the same time," he said.

They chose the Bradley Lowery Foundation to keep the theme firmly on football. Bradley an inspirational six-year-old boy from the North East who suffered from terminal childhood cancer, neuroblastoma. He lost his battle with the cancer on Friday, July 7. Since it was revealed in December 2016 that the condition was terminal, Bradley appeared as mascot for his beloved Sunderland AFC and struck up a bond with striker Jermain Defoe. The foundation assist families in a similar situation to what Bradley's parents found themselves in, and helps them with the costs involved in caring for ill children.

Mr Campbell added: "We just thought it was a good cause. He was a young lad and obviously he couldn't get the treatment he needed but the foundations helps out other families like that."

To support their fund, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/craigcampbell?utm_term=jXAJ5RmWg