A NATIONAL Park worker is preparing to hike the length of Loch Lomond to raise money for a charity working with young people.

Kevin Unitt is a land operations manager who has worked for Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority for five years.

He has decided to hike 40 miles of the West Highland Way on Tuesday, October 6 to raise money for Venture Scotland, a charity which supports vulnerable young people to access outdoor spaces for their mental health.

But Kevin’s life didn’t begin exploring the beautiful scenery of Scotland; when he was aged just 18, he was thrown into a police cell overnight after a plastic pellet gun incident on his local estate in his home town, in the Midlands.

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He said: “I was young and made a few bad decisions in my life. It would have been very easy to go off the rails.

“I can imagine a couple of more wrong decisions on my part and I could have ended up in the wrong place.

“It can go one or two ways for anyone. Others might still be in that place now and they’re trying to get out.

“I’d like to help, in some small way, get some of them there, and that is what I see Venture Scotland trying to prevent for young people in Scotland.”

For more information about Kevin’s mission, and to donate to his cause, search for 'Kevin Unitt' on JustGiving.

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