TWO men are planning to walk the length of Hadrian’s wall dressed as Roman soldiers.

Nick Griffiths from Rose Hill, Oxford and his friend Ben Sivewright will walk the 84 miles wearing armour next May, helmets and carrying swords. They will be joined by Ben’s sister Martha.

Mr Griffiths, 25, suffers from epilepsy, and will be using the walk to raise money for Epilepsy Research UK.

He currently works part time at St Phillip’s Books in St Aldate’s, Oxford, but he said: “I could get a better, full time job but there is still a lot of stigma and ignorance about epilepsy and that is partly why we are doing the walk.

“We want to raise awareness of the condition. Employers are legally obligated to employ people with epilepsy under disability discrimination law but they tend to find a way around it.”

Ben, 26, who works as a carer for his mum, came up with the idea of dressing in Roman armour.

He said: “I am into history big time so I started collecting Roman re-enactment armour. I didnt want it just sitting in the corner of my room so I suggested we go on a sponsored walk.

“I didn’t know which charity, so Nick suggested we do it for epilepsy.”

They now have a very long walk ahead of them wearing Roman armour called a lorica segmentata made from steel and weighing 10kg.

Martha, 18 works at the Old Manor House Riding School in Oxford. She will not be wearing armour for the walk but will provide help and support.