A SCOTTISH aid agency boss began a 200-mile bike ride across the country to urge people to help combat global poverty yesterday.

Alistair Dutton, director of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) began his cycle at Carfin Grotto in Motherwell and will finish in Dunfermline on Saturday.

Along the route, he will meet with prisoners in Shotts Prison, visit the Department for International Development in East Kilbride, take part in a special Sciaf five-a-side football competition and meet with Aladair Allan MSP, minister for international development and Europe.

Dutton said: “Nearly a billion people in the world today go hungry every day because they are too poor to be able to buy food.

“We can all do something to help them work their way out of poverty.

“I’m cycling across Scotland to urge supporters and the wider public to go the extra mile for Sciaf.

“Every day, Sciaf and our partners are working in some of the poorest countries in the world, helping hundreds of thousands of people with seeds, farm tools, skills training and small loans.

“I’ll be urging people to join the Sciaf family and help us on the road to creating a more just world for all.”