A CHARITY fundraiser has followed the Incas and trekked across Peru to raise £2,000 to boost a cancer charities.

Karen Waring, of Brompton, near Northallerton, spent four days in South America recently on a 35-mile walk to Machu Picchu..

Her Charity Challenge trip followed a path alongside the famous Inca Trail saw her raise funds for both Macmillan Cancer Nurses and Cancer Research.

The 49-year-old jewellery maker, of Mill Hill Close, was one of 15 people who took on the jungle on the journey a few weeks ago.

A former Lyke Wake Walk veteran she said: "It was not as difficult as I thought it would be due to the altitude.

"If you were going uphill you knew about it but you stopped when needed although some people needed a blast of oxygen.

"I think though that the trekking was not too tiring and I excelled on the walk as I had not done all of the training that I hoped to before hand.

"It was fantastic though and everyone we met was so wonderful on the trip.

"Locals took us into their homes along the way. We took pencils for the children and we also tried guinea pig which is a local delicacy.

"It could not have been better and I would do the trek again as I would like to go out there again to see more of Peru."

She added: "I’m really happy to have raised this much money as I wasn’t sure how much I would collect."

Mrs Waring’s brother David Shuttleworth was the inspiration behind the trek as he has done it twice now.

The idea to support the cancer charities is due to Mrs Waring’s father, Frank Shuttleworth, who is in remission from the illness.

She has also done a lot of other fundraising activities from bag packing at local supermarkets to pub quizzes.

A final fundraising quiz night has been organised by Mrs Waring at the Green Tree pub, Brompton, on November 16 from 8.30pm.

Entry is £1 per person for teams of up to four people. Sponsors can also give donations via www.justgiving.co.uk/karenwaring.