The great Hip and Knee walk, held in Exbury Gardens on Sunday, raised over £40,000 for the charity Hope to carry out orthopaedic research.

Nearly 300 people who have had hip and knee replacements at Southampton General Hospital took part in the walk. They were joined by over 100 children, some of whom had also had hip or foot operations.

The oldest walker was 96-year-old Bertha Parry, from Owlesbury and the youngest was 21-month old Madeleine Penfold, from Romsey.

Most of the walkers were from around Southampton and the New Forest, but three-year- old Harrison Smith had travelled from Jersey to take part and Stella Fisher came from Cheltenham.

The walkers were welcomed by Edmund de Rothschild, owner of the gardens, who also led off the first of the three walks. Each was a gentle stroll of a mile through the gardens.

The second walk was started by the chairman of New Forest District Council, John Hutchins and the third by the director of Hope, Ray Kipling.

Prizes were awarded for the most money raised, the oldest and youngest walkers, the person who showed the greatest determination to participate and to the person with the longest surviving hip replacement.

Elsie Pointer (89), of Winchester, was presented with a special shield for "enthusiasm, determination and sheer guts". Elsie, who has had several hip and knee replacements, has raised hundreds of pounds by taking part in the last four hip walks and even got a donation from a local bobby on the beat.

In spite of being warned by her daughter that she could be arrested for begging, Elsie got a donation of £10 from the kind-hearted policeman.

Organiser of the event, orthopaedic researcher, Dr Trudy Roach, of the University of Southampton, said: "We were so pleased to see so many walkers turn out.

"After the storms, we were blessed with a clear spell and there was a real party atmosphere. Many of the walkers were able to meet the surgeons who had performed their operations and to say thank you."

Ray Kipling paid tribute to Dr Roach for her organising skills and said: "Raising money for this research is very important. As people live longer, more of them need hip and knee replacements.

"Children can also have problems and the leader of the orthopaedic research group, Nick Clarke, has pioneered new ultrasound techniques for the early detection of "clicky hips" in babies.

"With the proceeds of the walk, we will work on cartilage growth, finding ways of stimulating bones to grow and new approaches for bone repair. Our scientists are in close contact with surgeons to ensure their work is practical and will improve treatments in

Hope is the South's leading medical research charity and is based in Southampton. It covers a wide range of diseases and conditions, ranging from cancer and heart disease to conditions of the very young and the elderly. It can be contacted on 023 8033 3366.