A BRIDGWATER doctor is hoping you get your vote to help him join an Arctic dog-sled expedition.

Dan Bunce, who is in his final year of GP training at Cranleigh Garden Medical Centre in Bridgwater, is hoping to join Fjallraven Polar - a 300km expedition comprised of 24 ‘regular folk’.

Dan, who says he has a taste for adventure, has applied to represent Great Britain be on one to the 12 two-person teams, each representing a different part of the world.

Fjallraven is a Swedish company specialising in outdoor equipment, and in 1997 founders Åke Nordin met Kenth Fjellborg, both talented dog-sled drivers decided they wanted to create a Swedish equivalent, but not for experts - for ordinary people.

Dr Bunce stumbled across the expedition while looking at the Fjallraven website.

He said: “Originally I was actually looking for a bit of advice for caring for some of their equipment that I already owned.

“As I was just scrolling through I saw a bit about Fjallraven Polar and I thought ‘oh that must be their cold weather equipment, I could do with new cold weather gear’.

“I clicked on it and it took me to this page which had all this information about the race and I was lying in bed reading through thinking this sounds insane and incredible.

“That spurred me to find out more and to apply for it.”

However Dan’s chances of being selected for the expedition are influenced by a public vote - go to facebook.com/drdanpb for more details.

Voting closes on December 12.

Dr Bunce said: “I’ve always had a bit of a taste for adventure but I do think its got stronger as I’ve got older.

“My Mum says when she sees me going off and doing these sorts of things now she can’t believe I’m the same five-year-old who used to be scared to do anything.

“My Dad became a warden for a nature reserve and has always loved the outdoors and travelling and I gained that sense of adventure from him.

“Being a doctor you do meet a lot of people who tell you to go through life and not have regrets.

“As a doctor I have been overseas to help a couple of times. I helped to look after a marathon in the Himalayas and an ultra-marathon that does the entire Pennine Way up through the UK in the middle of winter.

“I am also a trainee member of Exmoor Search and Rescue, where you have to go out regardless of the weather and get used to being in difficult conditions.”

Dan says if he gets on the expedition he is most looking forward to seeing the Northern Lights and exploring the wilderness, but said the biggest challenge will be adjusting temperatures which get as low as -20C or even -30C.