A YELVERTON resident is walking 154 miles from Plymouth to Land’s End to raise money for charity Sightsavers.

Starting on Saturday, July 18, Lily Spry, 22, will start her extreme mission with her sister Frances Spry and springer spaniel Billie — and they aim to finish in ten days.

Lily, who is a primary education student at Plymouth University, hopes to raise £1,000 for Sightsavers, which works in developing countries to prevent and cure blindness and support people with visual impairments and other disabilities through education and training.

Lily has lived locally on Dartmoor all her life but has not completed any long distance walking and has started her training steadily.

Lily said: ‘I saw the Sightsavers appeal on television and thought that in the current climate, with the focus on coronavirus, it’s easy to forget challenges other countries are facing all the time.

‘I have family members who need regular eye injections and procedures and they’re so readily available here, we take it for granted.

‘If a person has trachoma in certain parts of Africa for example, it changes their whole life, it goes from a simple infection to being an agonising, long term condition just because there is no access or funding for antibiotics.

‘I am a fairly active person and the opportunity to raise money for Sightsavers while enjoying the Devon and Cornwall coast appealed to me. I have never walked half this far before, so it will be a great personal challenge.

‘I am thankful to all my family who are behind me in raising money for this amazing charity.’

As the Times went to press, Lily had raised more than £400 for Sightsavers.

To support Lily and donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lilysplymouthtolandsendwalk or by contacting her on [email protected] with any tips or advice.

For more information on Sightsavers visit https://www.sightsavers.org