A BLACKBURN grandmother is set to take on the London Marathon in memory of her husband who died of motor neurone disease.

Sue Walker, 57, will pound the pavements of the capital in April in a bid to raise £2,000 for charity.

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The district nurse said that she felt inspired to tackle the 26-mile distance as a tribute to her husband Dave who died of the disease in 2007, 18 months after being diagnosed.

The mum-of-two and grandmother-of-two has worked as a nurse in the town for 17 years caring for patients including those who suffer from the degenerate illness.

Sue, who lives in Beechwood Drive, has been training with co-workers Sue Nuttall and Jane Short who have been inspiring her to keep covering the hard miles.

Dave passed away in 2007 aged 56 and had served in Germany for the RAF as a corporal.

Shortly before he died he had passed his sergeant exams and also ran a football team at Blackburn Eagles.

Sue, who said that 400 people turned up for the funeral service, said that while there was no cure for the illness, the money raised would help buy equipment for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and support affected families.

She said: “This is a cause that is very close to my heart and I was just inspired to do something to help.

“The disease has a devastating affect on families, including mine, and it really is a terrible and horrible illness.

“Whilst there is no cure I hope that the money that I raise will make a difference and help to make the lives of those affected a bit easier.

“My friends Sue and Jane have been really inspirational and have helped me through hard training sessions.”

“It’s amazing what they are doing because they aren’t even taking part in the race.

“Dave was a very popular man and his death was extremely hard on the whole family.

“I will definitely have him in my mind when I take part in the marathon on April.”

Denise Davies, head of community fundraising at the MND Association, said: “Without the amazing support of people like Sue, the MND Association would be unable to fund MND care, research and campaigning.

“Together we’re making a real difference for people living with MND and everyone who cares for them.”

Visit https://www.justgiving.com/Suzie2222/ to donate.