A former Ilkley man who is an accomplished explorer has embarked upon his biggest fundraising adventure.

Christopher Stanfield, 25, hopes to raise £100,000 by trekking about 3,000 miles over land and sea across the barren desert of north-east Africa from Cairo in Egypt to Edna Adans Maternity Hospital in Somalia, the cause he is supporting.

Mr Stanfield is carrying out this journey, thought to be a world first, to raise funds for the hospital and to highlight the health of people living in Somalia.

Two years ago Mr Stanfield, who is also a chef, decided to go travelling in Europe and ended up living and working on a camel farm in south-west France, where he learned about the work of the hospital.

He decided to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route in Spain in 2011, hoping to complete the journey with his new-found friend, Zidane the donkey.

But the animal collapsed and died after escaping from his field and eating poisonous yew leaves.

However, Mr Stanfield, who was a pupil at All Saints Primary School and Ilkley Grammar School, was still determined to make the trek and completed his journey within six weeks, raising £1,200 for the cause.

Earlier this year, in September, he set off on his journey to Somalia after returning to England and earning money to fund his trip.

While on his journey, which is estimated to take four months, he is documenting it along the way by writing a blog, taking photographs and filming parts of his journey.

Mr Stanflield is currently in Ethiopia and is on his own, pulling a cart carrying his food and water supplies.

His family are very proud of his fundraising efforts and are helping from home. They held a coffee morning on Saturday and raised about £500 for his charity.

The hospital, founded by Edna Adans, is helping tackle the war-torn region which has a high maternal and infant death rate.

The hospital also fights the practice of female genital mutilation in Somalia.

Visit stanfields-somali land.com or email: stanfieldssomaliland@gmail.com for more information or to donate to the cause.