AN ALVA man will take on a blistering 158-mile ultra-marathon through the Sahara Desert to help raise awareness and funds for MND Scotland.

Stewart Bell, who now lives in Dubai, will travel to southern Morocco next month to take on the 33rd annual Marathon Des Stables.

The event is described as "one of the toughest footraces in the world" by the Discovery Channel and will see him run the equivalent distance of Edinburgh to Inverness over the course of six days.

He will scale towering sand dunes, traverse baking-hot salt flats and withstand highs of up to 50 degrees Celsius.

Past participants have been known to experience hallucinations due to the extreme nature of the challenge.

The 35-year-old will take on the feat in memory of his grandfather Charlie Pirie, who died from MND in 2002.

Stewart also lost his beloved Aunty Joy from the rare disease in 2012.

He said: "My motivation to raise funds for MND Scotland comes not only because of their loss, but in respect of what they meant to us in our lives and how they persevered.

"We went through all the stages of disbelief, denial, anger and finally a peaceful acceptance of what was to come for both my papa and aunty.

"I was never personally a carer for them, so I could never truly appreciate the daily struggle or the dark days that my gran Pirie, my parents and immediate family had to go through.

"My most striking memory is of their desire to enjoy the time they had left and to keep a positive outlook. Their first thoughts were to their family and letting us know that it was OK."

After living with MND for only a matter of months, Stewart’s papa began using a communications aid on which he relied to speak in the final stages of his life.

Stewart said: "The last night my sister and I spent with Papa Pirie, he'd been given a LiteWriter and spent the whole evening telling us jokes and stories about the nurses which we weren't allowed to tell gran.

"He kept up the cheeky spirit that we had always loved him for, even through those final days."

In 2010, Joy Mort – Stewart's aunt – discovered that she too was facing the same devastating disease.

And even when she was in an advanced stage with MND, she always kept her "mischievous spirit".

Competitors in the Marathon Des Stables are self-sufficient; Stewart will carry his entire food supply, bedding, an emergency flare, medical kit and venom pump.

He will be supported by a medical team and will receive water rations.

The biggest challenge of the Marathon Des Stables is the mental battle and Stewart will draw on the courage shown by his Papa Pirie and Aunty Joy and the memories they shared.

Iain McWhirter, MND Scotland’s head of fundraising and volunteering, said: "I want to thank Stewart for taking on this incredible challenge on behalf of MND Scotland.

"It’s because of inspirational people like him that we’re able to provide care and support to people affected by MND in Scotland, as well as funding cutting-edge research into finding a cure.

"I wish Stewart all the best for the Marathon Des Stables and we’ll be cheering him on every step of the way."

Donate to Stewart at justgiving.com/fundraising/stewart-bell5