ADVENTURER David Hempleman-Adams has set off on his latest expedition to the North Pole with the help of four wounded Royal Dragoons.

The 58-year-old, who grew up in Moredon, and now lives in Box, in North Wiltshire, is leading one of five teams taking part in the inaugural Mamont Cup which will take competitors on a perishing 111km journey from the last degree north to the Pole.

Yesterday(mar30) evening, the experienced mountaineer set off on the first leg of his journey to take part in the trek, which will start on April 15 from the 89th degree north after teams meet in Longyearbyen, Norway, on April 10.

It is expected to take teams about two weeks to reach the Pole after trekking the gruelling 60 nautical miles.

“It’s a place that I know quite well and I feel quite comfortable in and I’m looking forward to heading back there,” said David.

“I think There is of course an element of adventure about it of course and it’s an extraordinarily beautiful part of the world.

"I’m expecting it to take about two weeks to reach the Pole.”

Although the Mamont Cup is intended as a race, David will not be competing because of the military nature of the team.

He said: “Several years ago I took a group of wounded soldiers to the South Pole and it was a great success.

"We had this opportunity to take a team up to the North Pole so I thought it was actually a good opportunity to get back up there.

“We are the only team that’s not actually racing because it consists of serving wounded military personnel.

“Because of the repatriations in Royal Wootton Bassett I became very aware of what these young people go through for us and for their country and when I met them.

"When we all went to the South Pole we became good friends.”

David is no stranger to challenging polar expeditions. He was the first person in history to reach the geographic and magnetic North and South Poles and climb the highest peaks in all seven continents.

The Mamont Cup 2015 is organised by The Mamont Foundation, which was established in 2007 to fund the exploration of the Earth’s Polar regions in order to better understand the planet and the impact of climate change.

The expedition seeks to raise awareness of the foundation, and in order to promote international cooperation and unity, all expedition member will share a well deserved toast of Mamont Vodka when everyone has successfully and safely reached the North Pole.

Other competitors taking part in the challenge include French explorers François Bernard, Christian de Marliave and Jean Gabriel Leynaud, and an all-woman team lead by Denmark’s Bettina Aller.

They will be joined by competitors from Sweden, Italy, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the USA.