A man waiting for a hip replacement operation is trekking 55kms tomorrow to raise money for the £15m Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign.

Despite finding it painful to walk, Dave Robertson, the regional director of Buildbase, based in Watlington Road, Cowley, is hoping to raise £5,000 from his journey through Oxfordshire villages.

The former England schoolboy footballer, who was on the books of Crystal Palace and Reading, will leave Buildbase's offices at 8am before heading south to Garsington, then across to Cuddesdon, past the M40 to Tiddington, before reaching Thame.

From there, Mr Robertson, 41, will drop down to Chinnor, before travelling through Aston Rowant, Tetsworth, Postcombe, Great Milton and Stadhampton, before completing his walk with a pint at the Lamb Inn in his home village of Chalgrove.

He hopes the trip will take about 10 hours to complete.

He said: "The twist is that I'm one of the youngest people to have a hip operation, and was 39 when my right hip was replaced at the Acland Hospital.

"I think I hold the record for spending the shortest time in hospital. From operation to discharge, I was in 46 hours.

"My left one is due to be replaced at the Manor Hospital any time now, and, believe it or not, it does hurt to walk.

"The problem was all due to football and too much road running general wear and tear but I was shocked when I was told to hang up my football boots."

Mr Robertson is collecting money for the Oxford Children's Hospital as part of his firm's pledge to raise £55,000 for the appeal.

He said: "I have visited the children's hospital, and when you see inside, it's not long before you decide to do something to help.

"Over the next 18 months, various people at Buildbase will be doing things to help raise money."

The 106-bed children's hospital is due to open in January next year and will be tailor-made for young patients.