South Tyneside women - the "Blister Sisters" - set to walk 122 miles in 24 hours for South Shields charities

On 17 August, Angela Davies, 55, and Jean Cook, 58 - who are also known as the ‘Blister Sisters’ - will walk 122 miles, the equivalent of the distance from South Shields to Edinburgh, from the “comfort” of the Trimmers Arms on Commercial Road.

Setting off at 10am, they will take to the treadmill for 24 hours to cover the distance, with several pledgers helping out and providing moral support along the way.

The women are hoping to raise £500 for two causes very close to home. Three quarters of the funds will go to the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, which is helping young people achieve their dreams in performing arts and sport, with the rest being donated to Jack’s Classroom in Tanzania.

In 2014, Angela’s cousin’s son, 18 year-old Jack Burden, from South Shields, was on a trip of a lifetime in Tanzania, when he tragically died as a result of anaphylactic shock.

The family decided to continue Jack’s work by building a classroom in Tanzania, and are currently funding a communal garden to help the village he spent his time in.

“We were going to walk from Edinburgh to South Shields, but the Trust thought that it would be too dangerous, as we’d be doing it on our own, so they came up with the idea of using treadmills,” Angela explained.

“We are well into the training now, we’re trying to do as much as we can.”

She added: “We have got quite a bit of help - we have got runners to do some miles and friends and relatives will help out if we need breaks through the day and night.”

Jean, who has lost a stone and a half since they started training, continued: “We never used the gym or anything, we just enjoyed walking, that was the reason we said we would walk to Edinburgh.

“Now we’re in the gym all the time, so it’s keeping us fit as well.”

Alongside the “virtual walk”, Angela and Jean have organised a family fun day at the Trimmers Arms to keep everyone entertained and to help raise money with children’s games, raffles and a cake sale to help raise money.

There will also be performances by dance groups from across the North East and live music from cover band, The Wet Bandits, will keep them going into the night.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the community, everybody has been great,” said Jean.

Angela added: “We really need for people to come along, enjoy it and have a nice family day.”

You can sponsor Angela and Jean at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/blister-sisters-122-mile-walk?utm_term=ArArJYVGD