A blind campaigner is preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of losing his eyesight by cycling to the UK's four capital cities.

Ken Reid, 56, was diagnosed with the untreatable degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa in 1986.

Since then, he has worked as an ambassador for the needs of blind and partially sighted people.

Mr Reid, from North Berwick in East Lothian, will embark on a 750-mile cycle ride to raise cash for national blind charity the RNIB.

He officially launched his Cycle 750 charity challenge on Monday - 30 years to the day since his diagnosis.

Mr Reid said he wanted to mark his difficult sight loss "journey" with a physical journey across the country.

"There was no history of this condition in my family," he said. "We had no idea how to deal with it. The condition is untreatable, so the doctors then had little more to say to me than to say I was going blind, and there was no-one else for me to talk to."

He added: "The rest of the journey has been a real one of discovery, with many highs and lows along the way."

Mr Reid, a former chairman of RNIB Scotland, will do the cycle ride on a tandem to raise funds for the organisation’s "talking books" audio-library.

He will ride a tandem bicycle during his two-week trip, assisted by a series of pilots who will cycle in the front seat.

The cyclists will leave Edinburgh on July 29 and cycle to Cairnryan near Stranraer, before getting the ferry to Belfast.

From there, he will cycle to Dublin and then take another ferry to Holyhead for Cardiff, before the final leg to London.

Mr Reid said: "The sight loss journey isn't an easy one, and I don't intend that my cycle journey should be easy either."

He said he was determined to make as much as possible to produce more audio books for blind people, to give them access to literature.

"It costs RNIB £2,500 to produce each 'talking book'. If I can raise £10 for each mile of my journey that's three new books for adults or children."

As well as financial donations, Mr Reid hopes to attract sponsorship and support for cycling equipment.