TWO brothers are tackling one of the hardest marathons on the planet to raise money for charity.

Simon and Andrew Dicks are taking on the Marathon des Sables to raise £10,000 each for Parkinson’s UK.

Since their mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, the brothers have been thinking of ways to raise money for the charity.

Simon, 34, who lives in Tilehurst, said that he felt he needed to do something for the charity which supports his mum.

He said: “For me, seeing my mum accept this illness and begin to live with it was hard because, mum is mum right, invincible, will always be around and is always there. This brought it home to me that this is not the case.

"For me this was a realisation and for the first time in my life I was really, really worried for mum. Like her, I knew nothing about this disease.”

He hopes the 150 miles across the Sahara desert, in six days in 50 degree heat while carrying his own supplies, will be a big enough challenge to help him hit his target.

He added: “We have got a run coming up, a 50 mile race in Wales. I have just got to keep running, a bit like Forest Gump.

There will be a little bit of brotherly rivalry, however you know you don’t leave a man behind, especially in the Sahara desert.

"Apparently there is a camel that does the race and if the camel overtakes you then you get eliminated from the race, so we definitely want to make sure that does not happen to us.”

The brothers will be holding a number of events before leading up to the run in April next year, including a garden party with an Auction of Promises, a quiz night, an auction on experiences, and a treadmill challenge in Reading Town Centre. Go to https://www.justgiving.com/Simon-Dicksmarathondessables for more details.