TWO local trade unionists put their best foot forward this weekend in a mammoth march to celebrate Britain's workers.

Brian Marden and Alex Pandolfo leave the borough today (Friday April 28) to start their odyssey from John O'Groats to Land's End (JOGLE).

The JOGLE 2000 has been organised by Bury, Radcliffe and District TUC. It will raise funds for various local causes, particularly Bury Unemployed Workers Centre, now known as the Bury Independent Advice Centre.

The 950-mile march has taken many months to put together, and is supported by trade union branches across the country.

The JOGLE 2000 march is promoted as an alternative Millennium celebration, ensuring that the history and contribution that workers have made to contemporary society is not forgotten.

It will celebrate 1,000 years of working class struggle, diversity and culture, and aims to highlight all forms of social exclusion. It also calls for a universal Right to Roam as a fitting Millennium tribute.

Alex and Brian leave John O'Groats on Sunday (April 30) and should arrive in Bury en route to Land's End on May 21.

They would like local people to join them during the "home leg", and will leave the town the following day from Castle Leisure Centre, where they will have a stall to coincide with Bury Environment Week.

The march should take around six weeks, and the pair are expected to reach Land's End on June 6.