Three childhood friends from Ashford are undertaking their toughest fundraising challenge so far.

Jacqi Snare, Jennie Matthews and Debbie Jolly frequently take part in various fitness challenges, yet this time they are going all out as they have planned their own half-marathon around Ashford which they will complete on a children’s scooter.

The trio, who are set to complete the task on Sunday June 18, are raising money for the Rising Sun - a domestic abuse charity, based in Canterbury, that supports women and girls who are at risk of exploitation and abuse.

Jacqui, who is a professional athletic coach alongside volunteering at the Rising Sun charity, said: “We’ve always done the silly challenges just to keep ourselves fit and we thought we need something different.

“I had this idea a couple of years ago of doing it on a children’s scooter because nobody’s ever done it before. So we thought why not, let’s do it.”

The friends have planned the 13.1 mile route by themselves; they plan to start in Kennington, stop off at Julie Rose stadium to scoot several laps there before gradually making their way to Victoria Park where they finish.

“Finding thirteen miles on a footpath that doesn’t break up or ends up going on a main road was the hardest thing to find.” said Jacqi. “The route is going to take longer than we originally thought; I think we’re looking at about probably two and a half, three hours.

“It’s going to be harder than we thought it was but it’s not a challenge if it isn’t hard. As far as we know no one has ever done it before.”

The scooters, which have been donated to the trio for the half-marathon, will be given to Ashford refuge once the challenge is finished.

So far Jacqi, Jennie and Debbie have raised £515 out of their £1,000 target.

For more information, or to donate: click here