A MAN wants to raise money for charity by pushingawheelchair along the seafront for 12 hours - but he needs a passenger.

Dave Kates, 59, of Hill Road, Benfleet, will push his late motherメs wheelchair from Chalkwell Avenue, Westcliff, to Shoebury and back, over and over, for 12 hours on September 7 in aid of the NSPCC.

He is looking for someone to sit in the wheelchair - he'll even pay them £40.

Mr Kate estimated he will clock up 60 miles between 6am and 6pm and said he was also willing to push two people, at six hours each, if 12 hours was too much.

He also said they would need to weigh no more than eight stone to make the feat viable.

The fundraising bid will be poignant for Mr Kates, as he came up with the idea while caring for his mother Jeanette, 88, who died in June.

He said: "I used to run my mum along the seafront from Leigh to the pier when I was training for a ten peaks walk in the Breacon Beacons and she loved it. A couple of hours of that was enough for her, but it gave me the idea I could raise money for a good cause by doing it for a bit longer."

Anyone interested in taking part in the fundraiser can call him on 01268 792396.

The garden designer said he also wanted to show he was not 'past it' at 59. He is no stranger to tests of endurance - in April he attempted to break the world record for the most punches thrown in an hour and will try again on Sunday at Benfleet Conservative Club.

The record is presently held by ex-paratrooper Paddy Doyle at 29,850.

Mr Kates said: "I feel a lot of people think they know everything about you, based on how long you've been alive.

So, as Iメm nearly 60, I'm trying to get in as many physical feats as I can muster."