A Downham man is taking part in a 10 day trek through Mongolia to raise money for the foundation he set up in his father’s memory.

Edwin Lampert set up the Brun Bear foundation last year after the death of his father Mervyn from brain cancer.

He donates all the money raised to community organisations, charities, such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, and animal welfare groups.

Towards the end of his life his father had hallucinations of two bears and asked his son to look after them, so Mr Lampert created the foundation to honour that wish.

Mr Lampert said: “Rather than becoming aggressive or paranoid, he believed he had two bears living with us and those bears were real.

“He wasn’t in a vegetative state, he could hold a conversation, but in the middle of it he would say, oh do you know we have two bears?”

The bears were called Bruhilfer and Brunfin, referenced in the name of the foundation, and have featured in children’s stories Mr Lampert has written.

The foundation have ‘adopted’ two bears from the Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Romania, and named them Bruno and Brunsky, and they will feature in future stories.

Mr Lampert said: “They allowed us to name their bears, they’re orphans and their mother was probably shot.

“They were only ten weeks old, they wouldn’t have survived on their own.

“We provide a share of the funds for their care and welfare, they will be rehabilitated until they can go back in to the wild.”

Alongside animal welfare, funds have been donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital and community organisations in Bromley and Lewisham.

Mr Lampert will fly to Mongolia tomorrow (July 22), and begin his trek in Ulaanbaatar.

It is the first “epic” challenge he will take on for the foundation, and he plans to make it an annual event.

He has raised £3,150 through his fundraising page to be split between chosen charities.