Staff and customers from landlocked Titanic Brewery are embarking on a marathon trek to raise funds for seafarers in distress.

The 12 mile Titanic Trek on Saturday, 5 September, is the idea of Mervyn Edwards of the Potteries Pub Preservation Group.

Walkers will be spurred on by a lookalike of Captain Edward Smith, Master of the Titanic, while Mervyn will dress as Titanic mascot, Mr Pinty.

The Titanic brewery is based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, and has pubs in Burslem, Stoke, Newcastle and Stone.

Dave Bott, Director of Titanic Brewery, said: “Stoke-on-Trent is about as far from the sea as you can get and our brewery is named in honour of a strange quirk of history – Captain Smith, Master of the Titanic, came from the Potteries.

“We take the link seriously and pay tribute to the memory of the Titanic with memorabilia in all our pubs.

“We are, therefore, delighted to join the Potteries Preservation Group in raising funds to help the Royal National Lifeboat Institute with its vital work.”

The trek begins at the Royal Exchange in Stone from where walkers will follow the towpath of the Trent and Mersey Canal before enjoying a drink at the White Star, Stoke.

They then move on to the Greyhound, between Hartshill and Newcastle, before walking via Wolstanton and Middleport to the Bulls Head, Burslem, where landlord, Bob Crumpton, will host a barbeque.

The Bulls Head was for many years Titanic’s only pub. But an expansion programme has seen the Greyhound, the White Star and the Royal Exchange open between 2007 and 2009.

Mervyn Edwards said: “This promises to be a great day. We will be raising money for a very good cause and celebrating the expansion of real ale pubs in North Staffordshire.

“Eddie Willatt, one of our members, is a Captain Smith lookalike and he will be joining us dressed in a merchant navy uniform along with Mr Pinty, a Titanic Brewery mascot.”