FIVE countries, four trains, a bus and a ferry are helping three friends raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Adam Cook, George Jack and Anderson Lima will make their way from Tranent to Amsterdam in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.

However, they will not be sitting back with their feet up.

In fact, their bums will not be touching a seat as they stand all the way – covering more than 1,000 miles on their feet.

Adam, who is a deputy store manager at Tranent’s Asda store, said the gruelling – and unusual – fundraiser was expected to take about 30 hours.

The 51-year-old said cancer was something that touched not only his life but also his two friends, who also live in Tranent.

Adam said: “We were going to do this last year but I had an operation on both of my wrists because I had carpal tunnel syndrome.

“We had to delay it and then George’s mum died of cancer right as we were going to do it, so it was delayed.

“I’m doing it in memory of my dad, George is doing it in memory of his mum and Anderson is a cancer survivor.”

It is the sixth year that Adam has taken on the challenge of staying on his feet for hours on end in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.

The charity works on both sides of the Atlantic, with telethons broadcast in the USA and Canada, while a series of events have been held in Britain, including a celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off.

On his personal connection to the cause, Adam said: “My dad, Adam, found a lump on his shoulder and went to the doctor. He found out it was non-Hodgkin lymphoma, blood cancer.

“He had chemotherapy and it was not doing him any good and he changed to tablet form. My dad went back to the doctor and was told there was nothing he could do.”

Adam’s dad passed away in January 2014 and since then his son has done all he can to raise funds for the charity.

Previous challenges have included standing at his then workplace – Asda at the Jewel – as well as standing for a day on Edinburgh’s trams and travelling by train to mainland Europe, with a previous fundraiser seeing him head for Disneyland Paris.

All three men will be decked out in kilts for the fundraiser, which is on October 4.

This year’s challenge sees the three men leave from Edinburgh Waverley before making their way south of the Border to London.

A trip from the Capital to France via the Channel Tunnel will take them to the continent before it is on to Belgium and, finally, the Netherlands.

Then they return with a ferry back to Newcastle and back north of the Border.

Adam said the traditional garb caught the eye of fellow passengers, which in turn boosted the fundraising.

He said: “We are guaranteed at least £1,000 on the train.

“Every time we have done it on the trains they donate well over £1,000, which is amazing, and they try to feed you and water you.”

To support the trio, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/amsterstand2018