A BRAMLEY man who was set to cycle in China to raise funds for Mencap will now slip into the saddle in Egypt, due to the SARS outbreak.

Russell Burton, of The Street, said Foreign Office guidance had forced the charity to change the destination of the challenge at the last minute.

The original plan was to fly to Beijing and cycle 395km from the Great Wall at Mutianyu to Tiananmen Square over five days.

Now the route has switched to Egypt to take in the Sinai desert and finish at the Red Sea.

Russell flies out on Saturday, May 24.

He said: "It's just too dangerous to go to China at the moment. As soon as the Foreign Office advised travellers not to fly to China, the trip had to be changed.

"If anything, this is going to make it even harder, because the weather is much hotter in Egypt. It will be through a desert and we have Mount Sinai to negotiate.

"Although I'd psyched myself up for China, I'm still looking forward to it - the ride is not about me, but raising funds and awareness of Mencap.

"If it had originally been in the Sinai desert, I still would have done it."

Mencap, the learning disability charity, organises several worldwide challenges every year to raise funds.

Russell, a retired banker, signed up after reading about the China cycle ride in The Gazette. He wanted to do something for Mencap because his daughter Catherine, a student at Queen Mary's College, has Down's Syndrome, and his family have been helped by the charity over the years.

Russell's enthusiastic fundraising has smashed the minimum sponsorship of £2,500 required by the charity.

Backed by support from family and friends, local businesses and a couple of fundraising events, Russell has accumulated more than £14,000.

He said: "The response has been fantastic - I keep having to revise my target. I'm hoping for £15,000 now."

Check out Russell's progress on www.ridethewall.co.uk