A YOUNG couple from Tilbury stepped out and made a capital trek to raise money for a charity literally close to their hearts.

Katie Fuller-Sherman, a Level 3 Health and Social Care student at South Essex College, and her boyfriend Liam, trekked from their home town to Westminster Bridge. They tackled poor weather conditions and hill climbs to complete the 48.3km route to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

So far they have raised £725 towards their target of £1,000.

Katie completed the challenge as part of her social action project on the Health and Social Care course and chose the British Heart Foundation for personal reasons. She said: "The project is important to me and Liam as we have both lost someone because of a circulatory disease and we wanted to make them proud.

"We feel very proud of what we have achieved and would encourage other young people my age to do what they can to raise money to protect our loved ones."

Jo Hibbs, Health and Social Care Tutor, said: "For the social action project, learners explore a range of personal skills including leadership, communication and problem-solving. For her project, Katie chose to raise money for a charity that is close to her heart.

"Walking from her home all the way to London took planning and training and this was a real achievement. As well as inspiring others, Katie has gained a number of transferrable skills through the planning and implementation of her social action project, which she will be able to make use of in the next steps of her journey."

If you are able to donate and help with Katie's fundraising project, visit her fundraising page here.