Source: Watford Observer

A train driver is set to walk 87 miles through English countryside, to raise money for a teenager's potentially life-changing operation.

Ian Russell, from Bournhall Avenue, Bushey, will team up with his son, Mitchell, 15, and his two black and white Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Jigsaw and Puzzle, to hike along the Ridgeway, which runs from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Overton Hill in Wiltshire.

The event will raise money to help send Louise Fife, who has cerebral palsy, to China for revolutionary stem cell treatment. And Ian, who works with Louise's father Jon at Watford Junction, has already collected £3,000 in sponsorship.

advertisementLouise, 15, from Farmers Close, Garston, will travel to Tiantan Puhua Neurosurgical Hospital in Beijing this summer for the operation it is hoped will improve her quality of life.

Ian said: "I was sitting at work when someone said Jon's disabled daughter is going to China for an operation and asked for £20. It wasn't until I got home I though I can do more than that.

"I've had 50 years on this planet and never done something about something. This one got me in the heart and it's snowballed from there.

"What started as a long dog walk has generated £3,000 and I think we can get more."

Ian, Mitchell and their four-legged companions will set off on their week-long trip on Sunday, March 23, and plan to stop at pubs and shops along the way to raise more money.

The trip to China will cost approximately £13,000, but Louise's family have already raised £7,500.

To join Ian for part of his walk or to sponsor him, telephone 07876 198702. Anyone who would like to help Louise, through fundraising or a donation, should telephone 01923 492968.