Four disabled explorers have started a journey around the world using 80 different types of transport in tribute to the fictional journey of Phileas Fogg.

The team will use 80 modes of transport, from a horse-drawn carriage to scuba diving, as they re-trace the footsteps of the Jules Verne character who circumnavigated the globe in 80 days.

They set off from the Reform Club in central London on Monday, the same club from where the fictional explorer began and ended his voyage.

But they expect to take a little longer, 100 days, to complete the challenge issued by businesses and charities.

Some of the '80 ways'

Tuc tuc Puffer boat Dumper truck Chipmunk plane Tractor Elephant Falkirk wheel Jet fighter Dragon boat Steam train Ox cart

Led by Robinson Dunsheath, from Edinburgh, the team includes Miles Hilton-Barber, from Derby, who is totally blind, and who will be driving a Formula 1 racing car at one stage.

Joining them is Mike McKenzie, 53, from Oxford who has had both legs amputated and will be scuba diving for five miles in the Red Sea.

Also on the team is blind fund-raiser Caroline Casey, 30, the founder of the Dublin-based Aisling Foundation.

The team set off from the club by horse-drawn carriage and vintage bus on Monday and plan to fly by vintage plane to the Midlands before getting in a classic car for a journey to Edinburgh.

They will cross Scotland on the Forth and Clyde Canal, going over the Millennium Wheel canal interchange, then travel by steamboat, dog-pulled barge and yacht.

Halfway across the Irish Sea they will be thrown overboard to be rescued and taken to Ireland.

They hope to make it through Europe, South Africa, India, south east Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States to return to London by December 3 in time for the United Nations international day for disability.

The money raised from the trip will go to various charities, including the Royal National Institute for the Blind, but 85% will be used for local causes.