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A British Sea Power fan is being aided in his efforts to reach the North Pole and help save the polar bear by the Sussex-based rock band.

Gareth Ellis is part of a three-man team who are embarking upon the 350-mile, month-long trek in April, looking to conduct research on the endangered mammal along the way. BSP, who have a long-stated fondness for the beasts, will donate all proceeds from the sales of a special T-shirt and sew-on team badge.

They’ve also provided Ellis, Yoyo Schepers and Alastair Leiper with a “survival tin” for their arduous journey containing life-giving essentials like BSP-branded Kendal mint cake and edible hair pomade.

But seriously:

"The polar bears are becoming more and more distressed by the retreating ice,” the intrepid Ellis informs us. “Relatively little is known about polar bears in the high Arctic, so observation of any polar bear predation is very useful even if the bear isn't about.”

What will you do?

“I will record location of bears, feeding observations, condition of bears, numbers of cubs and so on. Hopefully we won’t have to get too close to do this.”

They’ll bring you no harm. Any friends of Yan’s…

“Who wouldn’t want the big old bears to stick around?,” implores the frontman. “Best wishes to Gareth and his team. Here’s hoping they make it safely to the North Pole and establish a good working relationship with all the animals they meet on the way.”

The relationships are being built to help the Polar Bears International research organisation. T-shirts are available from here, priced between £17 and £19.50 (inc. p+p) depending on where you are in the world. The first 30 orders will receive a hand-drawn polar themed doodling from Yan, too.

You can find out more about Gareth Ellis’s Polar Challenge at here. Buy a T-shirt, yeah? Otherwise scenes like this will be lost forever.