FORMER Pars star Allan ‘Biscuits’ Preston will be trekking in the Arctic with his childhood friend this winter – all in the name of charity.

The ice-cold challenge by the BBC Scotland sports pundit and pal Keith Sands has already raised £30,000 for Scotland’s national children’s charity, Children 1st.

The pair will arrive in the Arctic on January 20 in the height of winter where temperatures can drop to as low as -40°C!

Staying for six nights and trekking 22 miles on the first day alone, the pair were in need of some solid equipment to see them through the ordeal.

Thanks to the Mary Leishman Foundation, they’ve been able to purchase kit to keep them alive, which includes three jackets, a fleece, balaclavas, hat, wool base layers, gloves, walking boots and socks!

Allan, who played for Dunfermline Athletic in 1993-94, told the Press: “We’ve been preparing for a year now and we’ve had a personal trainer that has been putting us through our paces to get fit.

“I’ve had both hips resurfaced and Keith has done nothing since school! We’ve both turned 50 this year so I think you can call it Couch to Arctic!

“I still don’t think anything will prepare us for that cold though.”

Allan and Keith have been supporting the Mary Leishman Foundation since it first began 10 years ago.

They were grateful for its contribution after they reached out to Jim Leishman, who was happy to help.

Allan was asked to take on the challenge for Children’s 1st and admitted it took a bit of convincing to get Keith on board.

But it is also a poignant trip for the pals, who will also do it in memory of their mothers who passed away within days of each other.

Allan added: “Keith’s mum died on the day of my mother’s funeral but he still came along.

“We said we’d do it for them to make them proud.

“The first day we’ll trek 22 miles and we go from there. They don’t want to say too much because I think day one is enough of a challenge.

“We’ve learned a lot about what we have to do because if you’re not careful you can get hyperthermia.

“For six days we don’t take those clothes off. We even have to put our walking boots inside our sleeping bags while we sleep otherwise they’ll freeze.

“Despite all that I’m actually really looking forward to it!

“Sometimes we have to step up to the plate for charity and help those who have been less fortunate than ourselves.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support and we have to say a big thank you to everyone.”

Children 1st exists to prevent abuse and neglect, to protect children and keep them safe from harm. They help survivors of abuse, trauma and other adversity to recover and work tirelessly to protect the rights of children in Scotland.

“I’m told that the psychology of the challenge will be the difficult thing,” Allan added.

“It gets dark around 1.30pm and we’ll keeping walking until 7pm. There’ll be nothing but snow.

“Then one of the guides will go ahead to set up a camp and you’ll be able to see a fire.

“However, that can be demoralising because even though you can see the light you can still be hours away from the end.

“I know someone who went to the Arctic last year but they only lasted one day because they were just too cold. So we can train as much as we want but nothing is going to prepare us for that.”