SKATEBOARDING friends are preparing to take an epic 2,100-mile trip through Europe to raise money for charity.

Tom Waite and Rob Ashworth will travel on 39-inch longboards from Denmark to Portugal, through Germany, Luxembourg, France and Spain next month.

The pair, who are also avid surfers, hope to raise at least £1,000 for the Royal National Lifeguard Association (RNLI) and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA), on a trip they expect to take three months.

Tom, 21, from Holgate, wants to support the air ambulance as his father was seriously injured in a paragliding accident in 2001 when he fell 330 feet near the cliffs at Reighton Gap.

He said: “It was horrible. I remember the day, everything about it. I was only ten years old and it was the first time I’d been to see him flying. About an hour after he went towards some higher cliffs, some guy came over and said we needed an air ambulance.

“He smashed both legs which sliced into his artery leaving him with severe internal bleeding. He broke the majority of his ribs and his sternum. It was the RAF that actually saved him because Yorkshire Air Ambulance was a new organisation at the time, but now YAA are more advanced and have more facilities they will be the first people to the scene of any accident they have been called out to in Yorkshire.”

Both Tom and Rob are keen surfers, and have instructed children in the sport at British seaside resorts. The longboards they aim to complete the journey on are basically extended skateboards. Tom said: “I took up skating when I was about seven or eight when my dad made me a board. I used to go down the street on it all the time.

“About four or five years ago I got into longboarding with some schoolmates after seeing some videos, and found it was amazing. It’s mainly for cruising rather than tricks, so it’s more appropriate for the challenge. I would never think of doing it on a smaller board.”

Tom and Rob are funding the trip themselves, and hope to ‘sofa surf’, camp, or stay in hostels during the trip, and have urged anyone who may be able to help them to contact them through their fundraising site.

They set off on July 30. Donations can be made at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/skatetotheend