When Lizzie Ellis and her daughter Stacey set out on their 31-mile Thames Path Challenge walk, their goal was to raise as much money as possible for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

So far, they have raised over £1,500 for the charity and in memory of a personal friend Neil House- the husband of Lizzie's best friend Cathy, who died of a heart attack at the age of 48.

The mother and daughter were determined to do something in memory of Mr House, who they described as a 'truly great man' and to support the work of the Air Ambulance who worked so hard to try and save his life.

Mrs Ellis, who works in Morrisons and lives in Carlton Colville, said: 'Cathy lost Neil in April and the East Anglian Air Ambulance came to him but weren't able to save him.

'I saw the walk on Facebook one day and I messaged my daughter and she said we could do it in Neil's memory.'

'We began really well and for the first 14km we were going great guns and really pleased with our times.

'The second 14km was really hard and we were both in so much pain.

'At 20km to go, Stacey pulled a muscle in the back of her left knee as it was quite rough underfoot and she stumbled several times. Her right foot started to swell and after visiting the first aid tent, they advised her not to go further.

'She cried when they wanted her wanted to stop but she strapped it up and kept going for Neil. We finished in 13 hours, 23 minutes and 40 seconds.'

Cathy House described how she feels 'very proud' of the support for Neil and the charity.

'Neil was at a stag afternoon go kart racing with his nephews and brothers near North Walsham when it happened.

'Over £2,000 was raised for the EAAA for his funeral and feel this is such a worthy cause as they rely on funding alone.'

? To pledge your donation to the worthwhile cause visit the just giving pages of Lizzie and Stacey at: www.justgiving.com/E-Ellis1 or www.justgiving.com/Stacey-Ellis2/