FIVE Blaina teenagers are preparing to trek through the Borneo jungle to raise money for charity that helped them turn their lives around.

Callan Wheeler, Adam Hughes, Kieran Meek, Ryan Offers and George Thomas, all aged between 16 and 18, will travel to South East Asia in February to raise cash for The Prince’s Trust, which helped the boys to establish Valleys cycling project Buzz Bikes.

But to make the trip, the group need to raise £22,000 in sponsorship and so they are appealing to local businesses and individuals for help.

The boys took on the challenge after the Prince’s Trust gave them £700 to set up Buzz Bikes, which gets youngsters off the streets by providing bike maintenance training, health and safety training, and organised cycle rides.

It was so successful they opened a bike hire and repair shop, and the project won a the national Prince’s Trust Celebrate Successes Community Impact Award earlier this year.

The teenagers said the project helped them do something constructive in the community and wanted to give something back to the charity that got them there. Around 45 per cent of the £22,000 will be used to cover the cost of the trip, but more than half will go to Prince’s Trust projects in Wales.

The trip to Borneo will see them trek and bike through some of world’s toughest terrain and climb the highest peak in South East Asia, Mount Kinablu. Callan Wheeler, 17, said: “We know the Borneo challenge will be physically tough, but fundraising thousands of pounds will be even harder.”

Anyone wishing to sponsor the group should contact Adam Cox on 01495 291694.