THREE daredevil businessmen from the Cotswolds are geared for the adventure of a lifetime - a 320-mile race to the North Pole.

Steve Jones, of N4 Solutions in Poulton, Richard Yorke, of Yorke Construction in Birdlip, and Nick Bevan, from Cheltenham, face freezing temperatures when they leave for the Artic on Sunday.

Team Star has been preparing for the trip for 12 months and its members are looking forward to the challenge.

Steve said: "I am not going into this thinking it will be a doddle - it's right to have a degree of trepidation. I respect the challenge but I want to get on with it now."

The challenge takes up to four weeks to complete and temperatures can plummet to -50C in the Arctic.

To get in shape Team Star trained in Austria and at the University of Gloucestershire, where there is an environmental chamber to help people acclimatise to freezing temperatures.

The team has also been busy raising £100,000 for the National Star College in Cheltenham, which educates disabled children.

So far, they have half the amount, but Steve is confident they will reach the target when they return from the North Pole in May. To sponsor Team Star call Nick Bevan on 07887 953097.