An ambitious fundraiser has been forced to abandon a mammoth three-month trek, less than a fortnight after it began.

Marcus Whitmore, from North Berwick, was attempting to trek between the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, and Nice in the south of France, to raise money for Save the Children’s fight against Ebola.

Marcus set off on his epic journey, estimated to take about 12 weeks, on March 1, but just 10 days later he was forced to call it a day after suffering “a nasty back injury”.

He said: “It is with great sadness that I have had to return home to Scotland early from my charity trek in Portugal, Spain and France.

“This is due to a nasty back injury from carrying more weight than I can manage for many hours every day.

“The injury consists of a sharp shooting pain going up the right side of my back whenever I bend down, the pain increasing when carrying any weight.

“Even when standing up straight, it feels like there’s a huge lump inside my back.” The 21-year-old aspiring travel writer and photographer raised almost half of his £1,000 target, and while he was disappointed to return home early, he still believes the trip was a success.

He added: “This is not to say that it was a complete disaster trip. It was one of the best experiences of my life to date.

“I have learned many lessons and I realise that it was a very ambitious goal. I believe it is better to aim for something very ambitious than to set yourself boundaries or restrict yourself.” The Melbourne Place resident admits that his back injury, caused largely by a mis-fitting backpack, was not the only problem that he encountered in his time away.

“Other issues were my inability to acclimatise to the 25 degree-plus heat, and lack of shaded areas along long, arid country roads”, said the former North Berwick High School pupil.

He added: “Some water fountains existed, but a fair portion of these contained contaminated water, and at some points I felt like heat stroke was imminent.” Marcus thanked all those who had backed his ambitious idea, and said that it had been “an amazing experience”, while admitting that his short-term plans go no further than seeking medical advice on his troublesome back.