A VET from March will walk 26 miles to raise money for the cash-strapped hospice which took care of her dying grandfather.

Laura Dickens, 25, who works at Amical Vets, March High Street, will be joined by her sister Amy on the trek from Stonehenge to Avebury on September 7.

Cransley Hospice, in Kettering, looked after her grandfather Alan Green in the weeks leading up to his death from liver cancer in November 2010.

Ms Dickens said: “The hospice is having a lot of funding issues at the moment. It is only a small place with nine beds and their budget has been halved.

“They were absolutely brilliant with my grandfather and my family tries to do its bit to support them every year.”

Ms Dickens is excited about the trek, although she admits she will be out of her comfort zone.

She said: “I’ve done charity fundraising but have never done a long trek.

“I’ve been training in Rutland and my legs are aching. You don’t realise how far 26 miles is.”

She hopes to raise several hundred pounds for the hospice and the Alzheimer’s Society.

She said: “There have been dementia sufferers in my family so it would be good to help them out as well.”

You can help Ms Dickens out by picking up a sponsorship form at Amical Vets.