A CHARITY champion was moved to tears when she came to the end of a year-long fundraising campaign in aid of a friend diagnosed with a brain tumour in Florida.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Elisabeth Devey, from Rishton, set herself a target of £10,000 for the Brain Tumour Charity, after her friend Natalie Gabrielsen, who lives in Burnley, was told she had cancer for a second time.

And after 12 months of challenges, including undertaking a 10km run, half marathon and sky dive, Elisabeth crossed the line in the Orlando Marathon in six hours and 14 minutes.

She said: “It was very emotional when I crossed the finishing line, to think I’d carried it off. I just couldn’t believe it.

“Because me saying I’m going to do something and actually doing it is something else.”

Another event, a ball at the Fisherman’s Retreat restaurant, near Ramsbottom, collected more than £4,780 for the cause.

Now after completing her various trials, she is going to follow up on a pledge to have her head shaved, as a final fundraiser.

Part of her appeal, dubbed ‘Liz To The Limit’ has involved intense training, which she freely admits has not always come naturally to her.

But she has become a regular sight across Blackburn and Hyndburn, in her Mickey Mouse ears, as she gradually increased the distances she was required to run.

Elisabeth and Natalie, a mother-of-one who is married to Morten, have been friends since the pair attended Westholme School in Blackburn together.

Investigating the condition which had struck Natalie, she was surprised to discover that brain tumours were the most commonly-occurring cancers in adults under 40 and children.

The fundraiser is now considering raising awareness of the implications of brain tumour conditions in local schools.

She will be staging her head shave at Rishton Cricket Club on March 13, from 7.30pm.