Seb Green, 18, set off from his home in Weymouth, Dorset, on February 1 for the 5,000 mile trek.

He hopes to raise £20,000 for the Starlight Children's Foundation – which helps youngsters throughout the UK – and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

It's what he calls payback for a rescue mission launched after he and a friend went for a joyride in a boat and ran aground.

When no one responded to their shouts for help, Seb leapt over the side to seek assistance – and sank up to his waist in mud.

His subsequent rescue involved the coastguard helicopter, an inshore lifeboat and an overnight stay in hospital – at a cost of £20,000 to the taxpayer.

Seb will be on the road until October, having already covered the south coast, Norfolk and North Yorkshire ahead of schedule.

Border collie Flash is keeping him company, and he also a mobile phone to keep in touch with friends and family, including daily contact with his parents, Hazel and Simon.

He said: "I'm not entirely sure what they think about what I'm doing at the moment. Before I started they thought I was mad."

Seb pitches a tent when he's tired, and is buying his own food, but locals have been helping him out along the way.

"People are allowing me to stay in their house and are buying meals for me. The hospitality has been amazing," he said.

Seb is hoping to study A-levels at college when he returns home, and join the Marines – so his trek's good training.

"There have been some rough patches, with the weather and injuries, but so far so good," he said.

Seb was joined on the South Tyneside leg of his tour by the Deputy Mayor, Coun Alex Donaldson, and members of the local Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

After welcoming him to the borough, Coun Dixon showed him the delights of South Tyneside – including award-winning chip shop Colman's, in Ocean Road, South Shields.

Coun Donaldson praised his initiative, adding; "I think it's fantastic that a young guy is raising money for two charities that are obviously close to his heart."

Walter Hudson, co-ordinator of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in South Tyneside, said he's certainly got his head screwed on. He knows where he's going and he's geared up for it."

* Seb received a spur-of-the-moment £20 donation in South Shields.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme members walking with him helped free a woman with a pram stuck in the sand.

She insisted they take the money, which they handed to Seb.

* For more about Seb's walk and how to sponsor him, visit his website
here