FORMER Saints star Wayne Bridge has decided to tackle a 156-mile ultra marathon through the Sahara desert.

The ex left-back player has said that appearing on SAS: Who Dares Wins has inspired to take on the mammoth task.

Wayne will take on the six-day Marathon des Sables in Morocco next year, and has been described as "the toughest footrace on the planet".

The retired footballer will be raising money for Walking With The Wounded , a charity which helps injured British armed forces servicemen and women adjust to civilian life.

The 38-year-old was titled winner of Channel 4's show SAS: Who Dares Wins which saw twelve celebrities take an intensive seven-day course in aid of charity Stand Up To Cancer.

Wayne played for Southampton from 1998 to 2003 as a left-back and was event voted the Southampton Player of the Year for the 2000 to 2001 season.

The father-of-two has been married to Frankie, 30, of The Saturdays, since 2014.

Speaking of the challenge, Wayne said he always knew he was "mentally strong" and that the show has given him "greater self-belief" to tackle and challenge.

In the final episode of the challenge stars were subjected to an interrogation and a mountain trek.

He added that he had an "emotional" phone call with his wife after being titled the winner of the show.

He said: “Frankie was so happy and proud about what I achieved.

“It took me a while to tell her I had won when I first called her as we were both quite emotional.”

He also said appearing on the show had given him a “greater respect for the resilience of the men and women who serve us”.

SAS: Who Dares Wins is a reality TV show in which participants are put though intense military training.

Chief-instructor of the show is Ant Middleton who is an ex-special forces soldier.

The show pits contestants against environments all over the world in a two-week training course designed to replicate the SAS training.

The show has been running since 2015 and during the fourth series, which was run this year, women were allowed to take part for the first time.