AFTER enduring blisters and stinging nettles while netting £400 in donations, a trio of fundraisers crossed the line of a 20-mile walking challenge on Saturday.

Terri Craddock walked a route from Calne to Swindon on Saturday, joined by younger cousin Maia Westland, 13, and friend Alix Pedley to raise money for the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands).

The charity offers support to families who have been affected by the loss of a child.

Terri, from Chippenham, decided to complete the challenge in memory of her brother Benjamin Craddock, while the other members of the team also had very personal connections to the charity.

The 24-year-old has been a keen supporter of the charity in the past having organised a number of family fun days and raffles.

But on Saturday she stepped up her game, embarking on the sponsored walk from the car park of The Bug and Spider at 8.30am and followed a route via Royal Wootton Bassett to Swindon, finishing at the town’s railway station.

She said: “In the end it took us four hours and 45 minutes, which was less than we thought as Google Maps told us it would take five hours.

“We also stopped for a rest in Royal Wootton Bassett.”

Here, friends and family had organised for a cake sale to take place to help boost their fundraising total, which currently stands at around £400.

Terri said she was feeling the effects of the walk the next day.

“It was absolutely boiling hot, we had been expecting thunder storms, but we just had the heat, so we got a little bit of sunburn,” she said.

“There aren’t many 13-year-olds who would want to do it, but Maia managed it.

“By the end we all had a few blisters and got stung by stinging nettles, as well as a few insect bites, but it was all worth it as we all completed it.

“We let balloons go at the finish line with little messages on for little ones we will always remember.

“There are quite a lot of family members and friends that have been through it all, and that was what kept us going.”

Buoyed on by the success of the walk she is already planning further events.

She said: “I am looking to plan a family fun day, which is obviously a lot less walking. I just want to keep raising money.”