FOUR charity champion walkers from Bolton have reached their monetary milestone. For couples Sue and Bill Shephard and Howard and Jane Knowles have raised £14,400 in sponsorship as they prepare to take on the rigours of the Great Wall of China. The group only had to pull in £8,000 between them but thanks to the generosity of Bolton folk they've nearly doubled that figure.

Now the quartet are preparing to pull on their boots and head for Beijing this summer to take on the 100 kilometre hike.

And thousands of youngsters who suffer from cerebral palsy - a condition which impairs muscle function and weakens limbs - are set to benefit from their efforts.

More than half the sponsorship was raised during a special gala evening held in the Lion of Vienna suite at the Reebok Stadium last month.

Bolton companies and individuals across the region stumped up the cash to support the group who have even paid for their own plane tickets and expenses.

Sue Shephard of Chorley New Road, Lostock, says all the money raised will go to Scope the national charity which benefits those with cerebral palsy. She added: "We can't thank everyone enough for all their help. We would not have been able to do this without all their support.

"We're now training as much as we possibly can and go walking whenever there's a spare minute. We want to be able to enjoy ourselves when we're doing the work so to keep fit is very important."

But Sue admits to having had a few sleepless nights after reading of the sheer drops she'll have to navigate along certain stretches of the walk.

She added: "One part of the walk is along a one metre wide path with steep drops on other side. I'm petrified of heights so I'm certainly not looking forward to that."

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