A HARE Krishna monk has arrived in the North-East on a solar-powered bicycle.

Karlis Derics, 28, originally from Latvia, is using the bike to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats as part of a project to raise awareness of clean energy and vegetarianism.

He secured a £5,000 grant from the National Lottery's Awards for All fund to pay for the bike, as well as a laptop and video camera to record his journey. He plans to make a film to promote green transport.

He is stopping at towns on the route talking to people about green issues and yesterday arrived in Darlington.

Mr Derics works at the Hare Krishna centre in Camden, London, where he helps with the Food for All charity, which provides free vegetarian meals for the homeless and low-paid.

He has been riding for four weeks and expects the rest of the journey to take up to three weeks.

"Very rarely do I run out of power," he said.

"When the sun's out, it's no problem, and I also have a battery pack, but I only use that if I'm going uphill."