Alderley Edge’s daredevil doctor has begun a journey that will see him fly round Britain’s coast powered by a 30kg motorbike engine strapped to his back.

Dr Paul Cronin has given himself just 21 days to make the record-breaking journey to raise funds for the Christie Hospital in Manchester and make the Guinness Book of Records.

Paul, who normally spends his time helping his clients defy gravity and the ravages of time at his Eternal Youth clinic on London Road, took off near his home on Saturday (August 14) and flew to the coast.

He said he chose to raise money for Christie Hospital following the death of his mum.

So far he has raised more than £5,500 of an ambitious £10,000 target.

The 50 year old has been tweeting and recording his progress on his live tracking blog so that supporters can get up to the minute information about how his trip is going.

In the first blog recorded after take off he said: "First flight was two hours and 15 minutes and I had only managed 46 miles!

"Landed roughly seven miles from Abergele at a nice big field right next to the home of a lovely couple Jill and Brian Roberts. They were very friendly with cups of tea and biscuits and explanations to Jane as to how to find us.  Slight rough landing which just clipped a prop tip so I spent a little while swapping over to another prop. The first is still repairable. Also had to change the batteries in the fuel gauge which had stopped working very shortly after take off. When I landed I only had one litre left."

Before he set off Paul said he had to plan his route carefully to avoid any hazardous or crowded airspace. He will be flying for a minimum of four to six hours a day.

But he cannot fly in the dark, when it is raining or when it is too windy.

Fuel limitations mean that the maximum duration of each leg of the flight is between two and three hours duration.

Speed over the ground below is ‘very wind dependent’ and can be anything from 19mph to 40mph across some 2,000 miles.