TWO friends from West Oxfordshire will walk from Witney to Paris to raise funds for a Cambodian elephant sanctuary.

Tom Iverson and Jack Goodchild will start the 300-mile challenge today on Monday and hope to make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower next week.

The pair, who became friends while working at Burford Garden Company, are aiming to raise £2,000 for the Elephant Valley Project, in Cambodia, where Mr Iverson’s older brother Chris is the manager.

Mr Iverson, 24, said: “I’m quite excited about the challenge and a bit apprehensive – but more excited than anything.

"We’ve got all our hostels booked along the route and now I just want to get going.

“We have wondered what will happen if we run out of conversation, but we’re going to try hard not to bicker.”

The friends will embark today and spend five days walking to Newhaven, where they will board a ferry to Dieppe.

After that, it’s another five-day journey to get to France’s capital and the Eiffel Tower, which the duo found a suitable landmark to conclude the trek.

They chose to raise funds for the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia as Mr Iverson’s brother Chris recently took over as project manager.

The sanctuary looks after retired working elephants that the project purchases from villages in the area so that elephants can enjoy their days in peace and harmony, roaming the 300 hectares of open forest.

They currently look after 10 rescued elephants.

Mr Iverson continued: “My brother is loving every minute, learning day in and out about the local villages and their input into the project, from washing the elephants to helping on site and with maintenance.

“The project offers healthcare and food to the local villages and a living wage in return, as well as schooling for the children.”

A large chunk of the money will go towards a medi-centre for the elephant sanctuary.

Currently, volunteers have to take the elephants on long journeys by road when they need medical attention, a problem that would be solved by the on-site facility.

The rest of the money would help local villages with schooling and fund vehicles to be used by the sanctuary.

To make a donation visit bit.ly/2gNyXtg.

To find out more about the elephant sanctuary visit elephantvalleyproject.org.