A woman is hoping to raise £1 for every metre she climbed in the Himalayas.

Elizabeth Huntley, the South Hams District Councillor for the Charterlands trekked to the Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas in January.

So far she has managed to raise £3,556 for Multiple Sclerosis and the Motor Neurone Disease Association in honour of two of her residents who suffer from the diseases. Neither Rose Van Heiden who is now in a wheel chair or Sandy Gay can walk long distances anymore, so Cllr Huntley decided to do the walking for them.

So far, the councillor from Bigbury-on-Sea and representatives from the charity are thrilled with the amount raised.

Elizabeth is hoping to raise £4,130 which mirrors the altitude in metres of the Annapurna Base Camp.

She explained how her father had been diagnosed with MS at the age of 19 and had lived with the family while coping with the illness. “He is almost 93 now and has only gone into a wheelchair in the last six years” added Cllr Huntley.

“He is a remarkable man, an inspiration to all sufferers. People with these illnesses are unwilling sufferers, they didn’t chose to face the daily struggles these diseases bring with them.”

Elizabeth said the strenuous challenge included climbing the equivalent of 500 flights of stone stairs among the footpaths in the Himalayas. On one day she walked 35,000 footsteps before lunch.

“My body held out this time but I realised I must not make such strenuous demands on it in the future.”

The challenge which commenced on New Years Day lasted for 17 days, during which the trekkers stayed in tea houses in various villages.

The final fundraising push is set for the last day of February in the Bigbury Memorial Hall at St Ann’s Chapel at 7pm. A Nepali Supper will be served by a Nepalease chef while pictures and stories from the Himalayas will be shared.

Tickets are £12.50 in advance from the Holywell Stores in St Ann’s Chapel or via email on [email protected] or on the door for £15.

People are welcome to come and enjoy an armchair Himalayan experience.