A FUNDRAISER from Malmesbury set off for a four day trek in the Sahara Desert for charity today.

Nicola Earle will be covering 100km during her time in southern Morocco and has already raised over £3,000 for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, a cause close to her heart.

“I’ve wanted to walk through a desert for about 18 years,” said Nicola Earle.

“So when I heard about the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trek to the Moroccan Sahara, it seemed a fantastic opportunity to trek through the desert and raise money for a very valuable cause.

“We are away for eight days, four of which are spent travelling to and from the Hamada region of the Sahara in southern Morocco.

“We trek for four days covering about 100km in that time, camping out under the stars or in tents.

“We shall be walking for about six to seven hours a day on soft sand and stony plateau and also walking up and down some of the largest dunes in the area.

“Thankfully our kit is carried by camels so we only need to carry day-packs.”

The trek will still be a big physical challenge, so Nicola has been training to prepare herself.

“It’s the terrain that’s the difficulty,” she said. “The sand will be tough.

“I’ve never experienced that sort of ground; it will be very tiring.

“I’m trying to do as much walking as I can to prepare and have been doing circuit training.”

Nicola paid around £1,000 to go on the trek and has raised over £3,000 since, which would equate to about half a day's costs to keep Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s helicopter running.

“Since signing up for the challenge, someone closely connected with the family has been taken to hospital by Wiltshire Air Ambulance and a family member was airlifted to hospital in Europe following a cycling accident on a fundraising ride,” she said.

“Both incidents make me even keener to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

“It’s nice to know there are air ambulance services when you need them.”

If you would like to make a donation to Nicola’s fundraising efforts you can do so by visiting her fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NicolaEarle