ARMY student James Hinwood and his friend Pete Clarke are paddling hard in preparation for a gruelling 125-mile canoe marathon at Easter.

The former Malmesbury School pupil, who is expecting to join the army next year and naval cadet Pete, will set off from Devizes on the Kennet and Avon canal early on April 7 with the aim of reaching London 125 miles away in under 22 hours.

“It is going to be tough,” said James, 20. “I’ll be glad when it’s over. But we’re confident.”

The pair, who are both studying at Newcastle University, have been training on the water over the winter including the River Tyne. At times the conditions were so bleak they had to break the ice.

They want to raise money for Wiltshire-based Help for Heroes, which is their university squadron’s 2012 charity because it “helps and supports men and women that have been through a lot worse.”

Dad Mike said James had been keen on the army since he was a young child and was a member of the town’s air cadet unit, but he had only really got into kayaking when he went to a services sixth form college.

They will join hundreds of canoeists in the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon, one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world. Paddling through the night, they aim to make it through Teddington Lock and on to Westminster Bridge early on Easter Sunday.

The first to tackled the route back in 1948 were four 17-year-old scouts from Devizes who completed it in just under 90 hours.

Anyone wanting to sponsor James and Pete can do it online at justgiving.com/TrojanDW2012.