Bomb disposal expert is helped on gruelling 1,754-mile triathlon by a Banburyshire campervan company

Si Hannaford with the campervan he will be using to rest during his demanding triathlon

Simon Hannaford has already swum the equivalent width of the English Channel (21 miles in 13 hours) and is now part way through a cycle ride that will see him travel from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in the far north of Scotland on two wheels.

He will then run more than 700 miles from John O’Groats to Bicester to complete his challenge in time for the Armed Forces Day celebrations being planned there for 26 June.

Mr Hannaford is resting up during the challenge in a campervan provided by CamperKing, the UK’s largest Volkswagen campervan converter, based near Warmington.

The father of four has set out to raise £100,000 to be split between two charities supporting the Armed Services, The Felix Fund and the Hummingbird Centre.

Mr Hannaford, known as Si, said: “I don’t think anyone’s done this before, so it’s definitely going to push me to the edge. Plenty of people have done one of the three parts - swum the Channel, cycled the length of the UK - but I’ve yet to find anyone who has done all three back to back, so I’m entering new territory here.”

Si has been encouraging people to subscribe to his YouTube channel in order that he can stream parts of the challenge live online. To do so he needs 1,000 subscribers but is currently a few hundred short. His channel can be found by searching “Si Hannaford” on YouTube. He will be posting regular updates as the triathlon progresses.

Stuart Kidman, Marketing Manager at CamperKing, added: “Si’s challenge is not only physically demanding but requires the right kind of logistical support in order that he can succeed. That’s why we’re delighted to have provided him with one of our rental fleet campervans, to ensure he has a comfortable base to rest and recuperate each night.

“We’re all behind him on this epic triathlon and we hope others will offer their support too.”