A Romsey businessman is aiming to make the town's charter anniversary year a truly memorable one by staging a major charity race, which he hopes will raise £30,000 for the XLP Trust.

Romsey celebrates the 400th anniversary of its town charter and ways of commemorating it are already being considered.

But Dave Turpin, proprietor of Abbey Park Cars, is hoping the occasion will be marked by a massive charity success.

He has already organised three highly-successful triathlons for Southampton's the Rose Road Centre for people with acute learning difficulties and this year's Tony Middleton Triathlon for the long-serving Hampshire cricketer which benfitted the XLP Trust, Rose Road and the Naomi House children's hospice.

And, with major help from his managing director, Ben Holdaway, he is aiming to provide a real boost for the XLP Research Trust, which has been set up by Romsey's Hartley family.

David and Allison Hartley's sons Joshua, 14, Nathan, 12, Daniel, ten, and Luke, six, were all diagnosed in November 2003 with a rare genetic condition known as X-linked Limphoproliferative Syndrome (XLP), also known as Duncan's Disease.

Joshua, Nathan and Daniel have all had vital bone marrow transplants and a date for Luke's transplant has still to be set.

Meanwhile, the family has launched the XLP Research Trust to fund the finding of a cure for the condition and Mr Turpin is hoping to mark Romsey's special year by giving the XLP Research Trust a monumental boost.

"I don't want to set unrealistic targets, but I would like to think that we will make at least £30,000.

And the good thing about this XLP Trust is that the money goes straight to what it's supposed to go to - the research work.

"Also, David Hartley is a wonderful man and they are a wonderful family and hearts went out to them when they came along to the Clump Inn at the end of our recent triathlon and thanked everyone and outlined the work they are doing for XLP.

"And the sole purpose of that work is to make sure that a cure can be found to ensure that other families don't have to go through what they've been through," he said.

He is at present looking for a suitable route for the triathlon, which is set to cover an overall distance of 20 miles, with a three-and-a-half mile run, a 16-mile bike ride and a half-mile swim.

"With the town reaching the 400th anniversary of its charter next year, I just think there is a wonderful opportunity to bring in a real community spirit, which will appeal to the residents and to the business sector of the town and its immediate area," he said.

The Hartley family's own appreciation of the support they have received from the people of Romsey came shining through at Christmas when they nominated the entire population of the town for recognition as 'unsung heroes' on a special BBC Songs of Praise programme which was screened in February.

And as Mr Turpin's plans unfolded, Mrs Hartley said: "We are delighted and grateful that he wants to do it. It will also raise the awareness of the charity."

Her husband, David, commented: "It is a wonderful example of the support we have had from the good people of Romsey and the surrounding area and hopefully, it will take us closer to the gene therapy we are aiming for. It sounds a very exciting event and obviously we will be very happy to be involved with it."