A man has begun a mammoth 185-mile dog walk in 15 days for charity.

Chris Wood is a trustee of the new charity Mast Cell Action and is walking to raise money and awareness of a newly recognised disease Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS).

The walk will be 185 miles long, from the Thames Barrier to the river's source at Thames Head. It will take 15 days in total over September and October.

When Chris's daughter was diagnosed, the family dog, Waffle, provided her with faithful and endless love.

The same was true for the two other founding trustees of the charity, who also have canine companions whose love and support has been invaluable.

For this reason, Chris wanted to come up with an event that raised money for the charity but also gave something back to the canine world, and decided on his Thames walk.

Tailster, the premier dog walking and pet care market place, is supporting Chis. Each day Chris picks up a different Tailster dog for his walk and drops them home again.

Chris has just completed the first stage of his walk, walking 57 miles in five days.

MCAS is a disorder which causes the immune system to become overly sensitive to otherwise normal and benign triggers such as food, common chemicals and even exercise.

The disease has many unusual symptoms confounding the traditional diagnostic process, leaving many patients undiagnosed and without treatment, often with a severely reduced quality of life.

Many MCAS sufferers are debilitated by the condition, and some are even housebound, left feeling lonely and isolated.

The charity is raising funds for Chris’s 185-mile walk through MyDonate.

“Mast Cell Action is a new charity needing to grow,” said Gawain Paling, another of the charity’s trustees.

“MyDonate had an easy-to-use interface and offered us the opportunity to reach lots of potential supporters, and they were a great help with our marketing.”