Terrington St Clement woman takes on 526km virtual cycle for Purfleet Trust

A Terrington St Clement woman who has been wheelchair bound for 17 years is taking on a virtual bike ride to Scotland to raise funds for the Purfleet Trust.

Julie Shipp, 60, was born with cerebral palsy and has been disabled since birth. She has set herself the challenge of cycling 526km using her special exercise bike starting this January.

She said: "Like many people, I have had lots of challenges and problems to overcome throughout my life, but I have been very fortunate to be well-housed. It is unimaginable how difficult life would be without the security of somewhere to call home

"I would like to raise money for the Purfleet Trust who do an amazing job all year round helping those that are unfortunate to not have a place to call home. So no matter how small, I really appreciate any donation at these difficult times."

Julie plans to start the challenge on Tuesday, January 12, but has already been training over Christmas. Her personal assistant, Sarah Barwood, said: "Julie is normally on the bike 3-4 times a week to keep herself healthy, but she's been doing 5-8km per day and she wants to reach 10km per day.

"She's been training over Christmas so she doesn't injure herself and she's gradually getting there. We've said she needs a nice picture of Scotland on the wall to motivate her."

Julie has set a fundraising goal of £2,500 on her fundraising page, and she also hopes to share cycling videos on her Facebook page to keep her supporters up-to-date with her progress.

Sarah added: "Julie would love to raise millions for charity, but we set a limit at £2,500. Julie will be checking in from time to time with live videos and updates on her Facebook page."

You can donate here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/offtoScotland

Keep up-to-date with Julie's challenge: https://www.facebook.com/Julies-bike-ride-to-scotland-for-purfleet-trust-102352075052881