BOURTON resident Mollie Wise is stepping out to walk the Cotswold Way, despite having had three hip replacements.

Mrs Wise, aged 65, has already covered the northern stretch of the route to Chipping Campden and is now turning her attention southwards to walk the rest of the path from Birdlip to Bath.

She first started the walk after joining the Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust, having seen its work at first hand. "I had to have three hip operations in 15 months because the second one fell out three times and didn't behave itself, " she explained.

When trust co-ordinator David Lawrence said he was going to walk the 100-mile Cotswold Way for the charity, Mrs Wise decided to walk a small part herself to raise funds and was able to present him with a cheque for £430

She enjoyed it so much that she and her Bourton Roadrunner husband, Derek, aged 66, have since been walking the rest of the route in stages. "I'm a girl that likes a challenge," she said.

She has also been kept busy by helping to organise an appeal for knitted clothes and blanket squares to be taken to Rwanda by the charity, Containers For Hope. "The response has been overwhelming," she said. "I had 174 vests in two months and I have no idea who half the knitters are."

The knitting has stopped for the summer, but will restart in the autumn and anyone able to help sew the squares into blankets can contact Mrs Wise on 01451 822365.