A farmer is to take his horse and cart more than 500 miles to the north of Scotland in honour of his brave Scots cop brother killed while protecting the Royal Family at Balmoral.
Jamie Alcock has began the marathon journey from Gloucestershire in the south of England to Moray joined by his two shire horses Millie and Willam and farm dog Boo Boo Beithe.
His brother John, a constable in Grampian Police at the time, was involved in a horror crash while a passenger in a cop car while on royal protection duties at Balmoral in 2003- the royal family's summer home.
The former Royal Marine survived for 14 years in a coma before tragically dying in October 2017 aged 54.
Jamie has now taken to his horses, setting off on June 5 with his charity challenge raising cash for Police Care UK and The Fire Fighters Charity.
With a target of £15,000 to raise, more than £5,000 has already been brought in at the time of writing by generous backers.
In a touching tribute on the fundraising page online, Jamie wrote that the charities were 'essential'.
He wrote: "My brother, PC John Alcock, was a serving officer with Grampian Police stationed at Elgin in Morayshire.
"In August 2003 he was involved in a road traffic accident whilst on duty.
"He was travelling with colleagues to do their shift on Royal Protection at Balmoral. He went unconscious at the scene of the accident and never recovered consciousness after. He died 14 years later.
"John was buried with full Police honours at Garmouth, just north of Fochabers, in October 2017.
"The local Police Federation, Police charities and Chief Constable looked after his needs and issues as much as they could and in a most generous way. They did their best for his partner and young son too.
"I want to help raise money so that others can be helped by them. With your help and generosity we can do this together.
"The challenge we have set is for the team to travel from Gloucestershire up to Morayshire in North East Scotland.
"The team consists of Millie and Willam - two of our Shire horses that work on the farm, Boo Boo Beithe the farm dog and myself as the carriage driver.
"The journey starts on Saturday June 5th 2021 and the trip will take about eight weeks. We will travel about 650 miles (1050km).
"The reason for this is to raise monies for Police Care UK and The Fire Fighters Charity. Two essential charities that support serving and retired police officers and their families and the fire & rescue service community .
"An important part of their work is with injured personnel whether it is physical or emotional/mental health. These people risk much on a daily basis to keep us all safe when needed and protect us.
"Police Care UK will receive 75% and The Fire Fighters Charity receive 25% of the donations."
John was buried with full Police honours at Garmouth in October 2017 with tributes paid after his death.
His partner Donna Alcock, who cared for him at home in Aberdeenshire, described him as a "wonderful family man".
Doug Keil, ex-general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation , said his family had done an "amazing job" caring for him.
"I knew John when he joined the police in Aberdeen from the Royal Marine Commandos in 1986.
"He was a very nice, decent lad who got on well with his colleagues. He worked there and in Elgin and Banff as well as in Holland for the Lockerbie trial.
"He was on royalty protection duties when the devastating road accident happened.
"John's family did an amazing job in looking after him and the wider police family did what it could to assist in that. All of our thoughts are with his loved ones."
To donate to the campaign click here or visit: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=shirehorses&pageUrl=1
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