WHEN Kathleen Roberts lost her husband she rallied family and friends for a fund raising walk in his memory.

Fifty-four of them banded together to complete a 10k hike around Pennington Flash, and together they have raised over £3,000 for Epilepsy Action as a tribute to 60-years-old Les, who died in January.

Kathleen, a nursing assistant, of Maple Avenue, Lowton, handed over the cash at a presentation evening in Lowton Labour Club.

She said: "We decided to walk to highlight the fact that there is a helpline available for epilepsy sufferers and their families if they need it.

"Les died from a massive stroke but had suffered from epilepsy for 19 years. He always coped very well, not allowing it to interfere with his life as much as possible. I was the one who could not cope at times and got a lot of help and comfort from ringing the Epilepsy Action Freephone Helpline.

"His epilepsy had worsened in the last couple of years and we did not find out until December that he had had two strokes that went undiagnosed because of his condition. Sadly he had a third stroke from which he did not recover.

"There is a lot of confusion about epilepsy. Sufferers don't tell people they've got it and people tend to shy away from the sufferers. There seems to be a stigma about it.

"We decided to do the walk as part of Epilepsy Awareness Week in May to enlighten people about the condition. Family, friends, the youth group from Lowton Operatic Society and members of St Catherine's Church all took up the challenge. It was a brilliant day.

"We had a lot of help from valued friends and feel that it is a wonderful tribute to Les and gave us all a lot of comfort."

The freephone helpline is 0808 800 5050.