Lucy's bid for the Great Wall

A young volunteer has raised almost two-thirds of the £3,000 she needs to walk the Great Wall of China for the British Red Cross.

Lucy Cunningham, 21, of Aldham Crescent, Wombwell, raised £792 alone last week at a clairvoyant evening she organised, adding to the £1,900 she had already raised through personal and corporate sponsorship.

About 110 people turned up to the event at Wombwell Main Cricket Club, which Lucy described as 'manic', and another will follow at the Elephant and Castle, Hemingfield, in June.

Lucy is hoping this will help her meet the target of £3,000 she has been set by the Red Cross in order for her to take part in the walk, which will take five days, with seven to eight hours' walking each day.

Lucy will spend a total of nine days in China, a country she has never visited before, from October 5.

She will start her journey in Beijing and travel along sections of the wall in Taipingzhai and Juyongguan.

But she was clear it would not be a holiday.

She said: "I'm looking forward to it, and I can't wait, but it's my first trip alone without any family or friends.

"On nights we'll be staying in really basic accommodation so what that'll be like, I don't know, but that's not why I'm there. I'll also be climbing 1,000 steps on one of the days so I need to start getting fitter."