THE uncle of a seriously ill girl is launching a charity drive to catch as many pounds of fish as there are miles between England's most western and eastern points.
Gary Strudwick's seven-year-old niece Georgia, from Purley, was diagnosed with the rare disease Rett syndrome, a life-threatening neurological disorder, when she was two.
Georgia is not able to walk or talk and has chronic breathing problems that make it hard for her to sleep.
To raise money for Cure Rett, a new charity that funds research into the disease, Mr Strudwick has decided to hold a fishing competition.
"This is the first time I have organised my own event for Georgia and I wanted to do something different," he said.
Mr Strudwick was inspired by renowned angler Matt Hayes, presenter of the Great Rod Race, in which competitors started fishing on the west coast of Ireland.
At the end of each day they weighed all the fish caught in pounds and were allowed to travel the same number of miles to the next fishing venue. The first to reach the east coast of England was the winner.
"This would be quite hard for a one-day competition," said Mr Strudwick.
"So we aim to catch 446lbs of fish, which is the same number of miles from Land's End, England's western-most point, to Lowestoft, in Suffolk, the eastern-most point."
He has recruited around 15 people to the competition so far and still has another five to eight places still left to fill.
"We will also have a standard competition like who catches the most fish and the largest fish," he said.
"The Georgia's Rod Race is a really good sponsorship hook and so far Matt Hayes himself is supporting us and donating prizes like fishing wheels."
Entering the competition costs £25 with £10 going straight to Cure Rett after the venue at Warwick Wold Waters, in Hooley, is booked. However, Mr Strudwick is hoping each competitor can raise their own funds for the charity so the total will come to thousands.
The 37-year-old said: "Rett is a relatively new disease and so there is not much research into it.
"But mostly, I want this to raise awareness about it."
Georgia's mother Lisa is also helping to raise money by running the London Marathon this April.
Her daughter was given a Tobii PCEye Go by the charity Starlight just before Christmas – a machine costing more than £4,000 which allows Georgia to use a computer mouse with her eyes and communicate.
The family, of Higher Drive, Purley, are currently waiting for a machine which will breathe for her at night.
"She's doing all right at the moment but it just makes you want to do more and more," Mrs Strudwick said.
"Her breathing has got so bad at night that she is on oxygen but it messes up her sleep pattern and means she is sleepy and doesn't eat in the daytime."
To donate to Cure Rett and support Gary's event, visit www.justgiving.com/georgiasrodrace.
