A STAR Wars fanatic from Whitchurch is set to don an outfit of the Galactic Empire and set out on a walk to raise funds for the West Midlands Air Ambulance.

Ashley Broomhall is a member of the 501st Legion, which is a fan-based global organisation dedicated to recreating screen accurate costumes of stormtroopers from the famous franchise.

He is spending six days walking from coast-to-coast – Newcastle to Cumbria – hoping to raise money for a service he says he has huge respect for, and will be wearing a lighter scout trooper – first seen in Return of the Jedi – to complete his task.

"I will be raising money for the Empire – sorry Midlands Air Ambulance," he said.

"I will be walking the length of Hadrian's Wall, which will be 83 miles starting at the Imperial Roman fort at Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne to the wast to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria on the west coast.

"It will be a walk from coast-to-coast following in the shadow of the wall.

"To accomplish this task it will take us in a ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs – sorry, I mean six days.

"I will be assisted in this epic by Moff Janet and Commander Ron protected by Imperial dogs Maisie and Maggie-May, and they will be acting as my support crew.

"Much like my previous charity walks I will be wearing armour. My stormtrooper armour would be impractical for this so I have opted to wear a set of Biker scout armour."

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) operates and funds three air ambulances covering six Midlands counties including Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.

Each year it costs in excess of £10 million to maintain the three aircraft and the provision of a lifesaving service, while each mission costs an average of £2,500.

Each critical care car or cardiac car mission costs £224 on average but the charity does not receive funding from the Government or National Lottery for its daily missions so relies entirely on the support and generosity of local people and businesses.

Ashley added: "I haven't needed their services but I have seen them flying and responding to emergencies across the region.

"I cannot begin to explain how much I respect and appreciate their service and the work they do on a daily basis.

"I hope that I can raise this money so that they can keep flying and carry on their good work."

To help Ashley reach or beat his target of £500, head to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ashley-broomhall