Historian Carl Chinn and two Black Country firefighters jetted off to Ecuador today to raise thousands of pounds for a cancer charity set up in memory of the 1966 World Cup-winning England skipper Bobby Moore.

Carl, aged 52, and Walsall firefighters Rudy Parkes and Andy Grosvenor set off from Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham at 2.20am for a journey totalling 25 hours.

The Express & Star caught up with the trio at Heathrow Airport at 5.30am as they waited to check in for their flight. They are part of a 27-strong group of volunteers who have raised £144,00 between them to fund research into bowel cancer, which led to the death of hero Moore aged 51 in 1993.

The 10-day expedition will see the group build a school with a football pitch for a community in Ecuador.

Carl, whose 73-year-old uncle Gordon Perry, of Stirchley, is suffering from bowel cancer, said today. “Football is a very important part of this journey. I have three Aston Villa shirts and seven England shirts to give out to the children.”