A husband and wife team who each work as sports journalists for a daily newspaper have completed a 25 mile trek along Hadrian’s Wall for a skin cancer charity.

Gary and Wendy Walker of the Yorkshire Evening Post decided to take part in the challenge after Wendy underwent an operation to have a tumour removed from her face.

Speaking to HTFP, Gary, who is deputy sports editor, said he and Wendy, who is a designer, writer and sub, were delighted to have raised £1,355 for the British Skin Foundation.

He said the challenge, which started on 9 September, was much tougher than they had anticipated.

Said Gary: “We did plenty of training but nothing quite prepares you for those hills.

“The support has been unbelievable – it’s hugely uplifting – the people at the evening post have been fantastic.”

The couple pulled on their hiking books to trek along the Northumberland countryside for more than nine hours on day one and around seven on day two.

Wendy kept a blog while on the trek in which she chronicles how tough it was. It reads “There’s a brown tourist sign saying campsite half a mile. Thank God for that. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry…it’s been the worst day of my life, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do…and we have to do it all again tomorrow…”

The blog continues: “This, afterall, was down as a “tough” challenge and it did exactly what it said on the tin. It wasn’t their fault I’d turned up expecting a bit of a stroll alongside the A69. No pain, no gain as they say, and it’s all for a good cause.”

The couple originally aimed to raise over a thousand pounds and now have a new target of £1,500.

To sponsor Gary and Wendy log onto http://www.justgiving.com/Walkers3