A WOMAN who shed eight stone to achieve her ambition of completing a half-marathon realised her dream and has handed over the resulting sponsorship cash to Kidderminster's Kemp Hospice.

Pat Morley, 53, recorded the creditable time of two hours, 52 minutes for lasting the distance in the Hastings half-marathon.

That was only half the story, as she had lost eight stones as she went from a size 28 to size 10 in her bid for fitness.

Her motivation was to generate cash for the hospice, which cares for people with life-limiting illnesses, as her father, George Dukes, had died from leukaemia, in 1979, when Mrs Morley, of Hoo Road, Kidderminster, was in her 20s.

Pounding the miles in the 13.2 mile event, in March, enabled her to present £362 to Kemp's fund-raising officer, Chris Onions, at St Cecilia's Church on Tuesday.

"It was the first distance race I had ever done," said Mrs Morley, "Having lost the weight, I felt fitter in myself. I had always wanted to run the half-marathon and I did it."

Any second thoughts she was having as she lined up for the start of the event soon passed, she explained. "All in all, it was nerve-wracking, thinking 'what have I got myself into?" but everybody was cheering me on," she said.

"The last three miles was the aching point because Hastings is very hilly."

Kemp Hospice's new premises in Mason Road, Kidderminster, have been officially dedicated in a service led by the Bishop of Dudley, Rt Rev David Walker.

Trustees, staff and volunteers attended. Trustees chairman, Isobel Dale, said: "This was a wonderful opportunity for us to underline the Christian values on which Kemp is founded."

The Kemp building, which was formerly the Cedars Hotel, will be officially opened by Confederation of British Industry chairman, Sir Digby Jones, on August 6.