A CLITHEROE deputy headteacher is slipping on his trainers to raise cash for conflict-torn Kenya.

Stonyhurst College's Laurence McKell is among a team of runners who will be pounding the miles for the Flora 2004 London Marathon, on Sunday.

He is hoping to collect money for an appeal by missionary priest Father Albert Salvans on the plight of Kenyan people in the Lokitaung area. It will go towards a refuge and education centre for orphaned girls.

But the easiest runners to spot will be 16 former Stonyhurst students and friends running in traditional Native American dress.

The Wakupe runners, who will be adorned in body paint, loin cloths and feathers, have been organised by ex-pupil, Ben Ramsden, who recently returned from working with the Indigenous Amerindians, in Guyana, India.

It is hoped the Wakupe runners, part of the Jesuit Missions project, will make a dent in the £80,000 needed to start a fund to help people maintain their traditional ways of life and provide a sustainable future.