A triathlon is painful enough for anyone, but David Jones is taking on the charity challenge despite suffering from the after-effects of polio.

The 55 year-old, who has post-polio syndrome (PPS), will swim, walk and cycle the Olympic distance triathlon and hopes to raise about £2,000 to split between two good causes.

The father of two, of Hollow Lane, Ramsey, contracted polio as a baby when his family lived in Kenya, and was left with PPS, which causes increasing muscle weakness, joint pain and fatigue among other symptoms.

He said: “The thing about PPS is it gets worse as you get older, so I’m just trying to fit these things in while I still can.”

Mr Jones, owner of Alpeninox UK, will cover more than 50km, including a 40km cycle.

The money raised will be split between the Walton Centre in Liverpool – one of two PPS specialists in Europe – and Ramsey Cricket Club. Mr Jones has been a member of the cricket club for 25 years and said the money would go towards sending a young Ramsey cricketer to Australia to train and play the game.

He said the hardest parts of the triathlon will be the 1.5km swim, which he will complete at Ramsey’s One Leisure pool, and the 10km walk, as PPS leaves him fatigued very quickly.

Because of his condition, Mr Jones will complete the feat over a number of days and is set to finish on August 30.

“The final day will be extremely testing,” he said. “If I did everything on that day I would have to pre-book a bed at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.”

Last year, Mr Jones walked 100 laps around Ramsey Cricket Club’s ground and raised £2,000 for Polio Survivors Support Network and the cricket club.

INFORMATION: To donate, visit www.ramseycricketclub.co.uk.