Teacher sets challenge to dance across Britain for charity

He's an ordinary teacher but Ben Hammond has set himself the extraordinary challenge of dancing every step of the way from John O'Groats in the north of Scotland to Land's End at England's most southern tip.

Ben, 34, is two weeks into his challenge and has already danced 250 miles through Scotland's highlands and the vast Cairngorms national park.

For the next few weeks, until 13 October, Ben will be shaking, shimmying and shuffling over a thousand miles to become the first person to dance the entire length of Britain.

He's appealing to members of the great British public to join him along the way, be they dancers, dance lovers or even non-dancers who just like a good shimmy.

So far, Ben has been joined by troupes of cheerleaders, elderly keep fit classes, toddlers in tutus, Zumba instructors, and even Highland dancers with traditional Scottish piper accompaniment.

Then there have been the hundreds of enthusiastic locals and tourists who have joined in with the odd jig along the route.

As he comes within sight of Edinburgh and the borders, he's looking for more fun-spirited people to join him.

“Whether you join me to walk like an Egyptian through Edinburgh, Bollywood along the borders, streetdance through Salford, tango to Trafford, limbo through Liverpool, do the worm round Wolverhampton, ballet into Birmingham, kick the can-can around Cardiff, swing around Shepton Mallet or line dance all the way to Land’s End, I’d love to dance with you!” he enthuses.

The entire journey will see Ben dance some three and a half million dance steps and consume the same amount of calories each day as Bradley Wiggins did when he was doing the Tour de France.

Ben is aiming to raise £50,000 to go towards the work of Amnesty International, the Burma Campaign UK and his own educational charity LearnBurma.

He was inspired to help Burma after working as a refugee camp teacher there from 2004 to 2005.

After the democratic reforms introduced by the political leaders, he believes the country has the best chance in a lifetime for real and lasting change.

To join Ben, visit at www.dancebritain.com