79-year-old Sheila puts on her walking boots for the Examiner Charity Challenge

Mar 10 2009 by Roy Wright, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

79-year-old Sheila Duffton puts on her walking boots for the Examiner Charity Challenge

TWICE a month 79-year-old Sheila Duffton dons her walking boots and heads out on walks of up to six miles.

Now the kind-hearted Lindley pensioner is putting her best foot first for the Examiner’s Charity Challenge to mark her forthcoming 80th birthday.

And she is hoping to get 80 people to sponsor her on the charity seven mile hike – one for every year of her life.

Sheila said: “I first did the Examiner Charity Challenge when I was 63 and I did it for three years. It wasn’t really a great effort then for me to walk seven miles.

“When I was 70 I did a walk again and someone said to me ‘you better make sure you’re back again when you’re 80’ so I will do it again.

“And because I’ll be 80 this year I want to get 80 sponsors for every year of my life.”

She will be raising money for the West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust children’s hospice appeal.

She added: “I’m quite an active person, I go out walking maybe twice a month.