One pro-life advocate is taking up an 8ft cross to raise awareness of the rights of unborn children.

Juan Rios Perez flew out from London to Mallorca on Saturday and will be carrying the cross 60km across the island over the next few weeks.

His challenge starts at Lloseta and will finish at the Oratory of San Salvador, Felanitx. 

Perez is a devout Catholic and an active member of the pro-life movement, and is being supported in his mission by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).  

He is originally from Spain but met his wife Deborah on the island in 1982.  They had daughter Sophia in 1985 before moving to Deborah's home city of London in 1988 for good.

It was after his wife's untimely death from cancer in 2001 that he committed himself to Jesus. 

He says: "Her death changed my life, and since then I have dedicated myself to Jesus, to preaching His word and reading sacred Scripture."

Perez said of his latest challenge: "It is my voluntary sacrifice to raise money for the protection of unborn children.  As a devout Catholic, my priority is always to serve God and my family all the days of my life." 

Perez can be sponsored through the SPUC website here