Intrepid Bridport residents, Kelly Heath and Anna Willmore, have completed their challenge to trek in the Sahara, raising over £8,000 for Weldmar Hospicecare.

The challenge was taken on in memory of good friends that they recently lost, Mel Ferguson and Nikki Challis, who were cared for by Weldmar doctors and nurses. Weldmar offered wonderful end of life care and supported their families throughout.

Kelly explains: "We both held fundraising events and collections including raffles, tabletop sales and an afternoon tea.

"We are both so grateful for all the support we have received with so many amazing donations by family, friends and local people who wanted to support us and more importantly this essential local service that relies on donations to operate".

The trek, which took place in November, was organised by the hospice and saw a group of 30 Weldmar supporters from across the county fly to Morocco to trek for 50 kilometers over four days, in temperatures of up to 34ᵒC.

Anna said: "We met some fantastic people that all had similar stories. We really bonded and hope to all keep in touch.

"The trek was tough and at times really challenging, but we were rewarded with some amazing memories, climbing sand dunes, sleeping under the stars and a camel ride!"

After completing the trek Kelly and Anna stayed on for two extra days to experience Marrakech. This included shopping in the souks, seeing snake charmers and trying local cuisine and street food.

There is still time to donate to their appeal – just visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kellyheath or https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anna-willmore.