BLIND daredevil Mike Newman is planning to hit the record books with a 100mph ride on a two-wheeled mean machine.

Mike, a business banker, decided to prove that blindness is not a disability by smashing the two-wheeled land speed record.

And in the process he hopes to raise thousands of pounds for Bolton's Guide Dogs for the Blind centre.

Mike's current dog, a retriever call Ross, is looked after by workers at the Bolton centre who were amazed when they heard about Mike's brave, high-powered stunt.

Tomorrow, at a disused RAF runway at Elvington Park, North Yorkshire, 39-year-old Mike, from Sale, will sit astride a powerful Aprilia Falcon motorbike, capable of doing up to 180mph.

The only help he will have is from his friend, motorbike instructor Simon Perfect riding alongside him on a second bike and giving him directions via a radio helmet.

Mike said: "I wanted to do something exciting and high-profile, drawing attention to the skills and determination among disabled people, which are so often overlooked.

"Technical problems meant I had to postpone the record-breaking attempt earlier in the year but now it's all systems go!"

Mike was born partially sighted and was totally blind by the time he was 12. But that has not stopped him leading a full life, including a demanding career with Barclays Bank in Manchester.

But until he started practising for his attempt to break the current 78.4mph record, he had never ridden a motorbike.

By tomorrow, he will have sat on a motorbike only half a dozen times and admits that his last practice run, when he hit 75mph, had been terrifying.

"He is an inspiration to everyone," said Rod Arthern, fund-raising development officer at the Bolton centre, who will be holding the radar gun timing his run.

A team of people will be at the runway including a camera crew from the BBC's Record Breakers, paramedics and health and safety officials.

Cheering on Mike from the sidelines will be his wife Kristen and children Rebecca, aged 13, and Sam, aged 11 -- and Ross the dog will be there, too.

Mike admits that if he smashes the record he has no plans to repeat the stunt.

"It is frightening. It is a real effort of willpower but it is exciting," he said. Besides which, I have to do it now because my kids have told everyone I am going to!"