A teacher who taught two of the country's top comedians was today starting a 6,000-mile cycle ride and trek from Manchester to India.

Paul Abbott, who taught Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness, wants to raise £8,000 for Reaching the Unreached (RTU) which supports orphaned children and poor villagers near Madurai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Paul was nicknamed Mr India by Peter Kay in his autobiography – a reference to his selfless attitude to those less fortunate.

Father-of-four Paul, 52, who has retired from Farnworth's Mount St Joseph's RC High School, said: “Most adults have traits or mannerisms which young people are quick to pick up on, so I'm not surprised Peter referred to me as Mr India in his book because the work of RTU was important to me then and it still is today. By doing this journey l'll be raising funds to build decent homes for poor families.”

The huge trip will take Paul through Holland, Hungary, Romania and Turkey before he boards a boat from Istanbul to Mumbai.

He will then trek 900 miles to Madurai to meet his former volunteering friend James Kimpton for his 85th birthday celebration – nearly 6,000 miles from Paul's starting point of Cookson's Cycles, in Whitefield, Bury, who have helped him prepare for the journey.

Paul expects to arrive in Madurai on May 22.

To sponsor him visit www.paulabbott.org