A MINEHEAD grandfather has set out on the South West Coast Path to raise money to help two good causes which are both close to his heart. John Boniface (pictured), 65, of Alcombe Road will be hoping to complete the 630-mile route from Minehead to Poole in Dorset in around 45 days. He is hoping his efforts will raise at least £1,750 for the charities CMT UK and Sarcoma UK. John's 15-year-old granddaughter Abbie Abbott suffers from CMT syndrome, a disease which causes nerve damage and has resulted in Abbie undergoing surgery. The charity CMT UK works to raise awareness of the condition and funds vital research as well as paying for special adventure weekends for children who suffer from the disease. "Abbie has been able to canoe, cycle using an arm cycle, climb and abseil with other youngsters who suffer from the syndrome. "In the last few years she has had a long bought of suffering and has had to have surgery to correct a side-effect of the syndrome," John said. His other chosen charity Sarcoma UK also has personal connections for John as he knows the chief executive of the organisation and was encouraged to support the cause by a friend. Sarcoma is a rare form of skin, nerve and bone cancer and affects around 13,000 people in the UK each year. "I took full retirement in February and challenged myself to walk the South West Coast Path, not only for myself, but more importantly, to raise funds for the two charities. "I have been active all my life so far - I currently umpire for Minehead Hockey Club - and as an OAP, I believe in giving back to the community that has given me so much pleasure and enjoyment in the past," John said. He set off on his epic fundraising adventure from Minehead on Wednesday morning: "As it was St George's Day, I thought it was a good day to begin so I could help these charities slay the dragon for people who suffer from these diseases and syndromes," he said. Anyone who would like to sponsor John can log-on to the website http://www.justgiving">www.justgiving. com/teams/SWC-Path14.