Shropshire woman who broke her back set for year-long Wrekin challenge
Seven years after she broke her back in a horse riding accident, a Shropshire woman is planning a whole year of charity walks up The Wrekin.
When Sally Barnett broke her back in a horse riding accident she feared she may never walk again.
The 41-year-old, from Hinstock, near Market Drayton, spent two months in a metal torso frame and a further six months undergoing gruelling physio and hydrotherapy.
Seven years after the accident, and fit again, Ms Barnett has defied the odds and is planning to walk up and down The Wrekin every week for a year in complete firefighting gear.
The fire control operator, who works in Shrewsbury, is aiming to raise money for The Fire Fighters' Charity.
She said: "During my recovery a lot of my therapy was undertaken at Jubilee House, a therapy centre funded by The Fire Fighters' Charity.
"A year to the day later I was able to climb Snowdon to raise money for the charity to show my appreciation. I also climbed Snowdon to mark the five-year anniversary of the accident and raised £3,500.
"Climbing Snowdon was a personal goal for me after breaking my back and facing the bleak fact that I may never have walked again. Now, seven years on, fully recovered and fighting fit, I have decided to set myself another challenge to raise money for charity.
"I started The Wrekin challenge on June 28 and I was doing walks in the hot weather and temperatures of 26 to 28 degrees. That was tough.
"But as I have got fitter and the weather has got cooler I am finding it easier. I have a smallholding and keep myself fit by wrestling sheep."
If anybody would like to donate money for her chosen charity visit www.justgiving.com/SallysWrekinYear2013
