A CHARITY boss and her friend walked the 80-mile coastal path of the Isle of Wight, raising a tremendous £60,000 to help improve the lives of people living with enduring mental illness.

Louise Hallett, from Lymington, founded Hammersley Homes in 2018, to provide a nationwide network of supported homes for life for people with long term mental illnesses who struggle to live independently.

In a bid to raise funds towards their first home, at the start of what may have been the hottest week of the year so far, Louise 68, and her 80-year-old walking companion, donned their hiking boots and set off.

Louise told the Daily Echo: “The first five days were really hot, and we did struggle in the extreme heat - especially the steep uphill climbs, but mostly those first days were walking the South Coast path which is so beautiful; carpets of wild flowers, hundreds of butterflies, miles and miles of cliff, looking down longingly at endless sandy beaches and the most tempting, flat calm sea, frustratingly inaccessible from the cliff.

"We had some wonderful moments, such as been given a donation by someone who we asked for directions, and free coffees from a very kind woman in a café we reached at the top of a hill, early one morning, panting for a drink.

Donations that continued to pour in and receiving lots of encouraging messages on the way kept us going!”.

Louise added that she has a family member who has suffered with mental illness for more than 40 years and will do what she can to make a difference, helping vulnerable people to live their best life.