A COURAGEOUS fundraiser kept the memory of her late husband alive when she trekked across the Andes with the widow of soccer legend Bobby Moore.

Jane Young (60), of Enford, answered an appeal by Stephanie Moore, who was seeking volunteers to conquer the mountainous terrain and raise money for the Bobby Moore Fund For Cancer Research UK.

Mrs Young's husband, Brian, and World Cup star Bobby died within months of each other in 1994 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, aged 51.

The Youngs married in the same year that Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup in 1966 and were on a bellringers' trip, listening to the radio on the coach, when they learned of England's victory.

Feeling the trek would be a fitting way to remember Brian, Jane immediately set about trying to find the £3,500 sponsorship needed to take part in the five-day hike across the Patagonian region of Chile.

She said: "My daughter's friend read about it and said it was an omen.

"It did strike a chord - it was meant to be and I was meant to go."

She collected £5,000 in sponsorship money from family and friends, including £1,600 from a fundraising evening organised by her local pub, the Swan.

Some gruelling walks across Salisbury Plain, swimming and regular exercise helped prepare the mother-of-three for her 56-mile hike.

Mrs Young added: "I had looked at treks in the past but they were out of my reach.

"But because this was for bowel cancer, I thought perhaps I could find the money.

"It was very difficult - not because of my age, and I was fit enough, but it was uphill and had to be completed in a certain time.

"The hardest thing was going on my own, and to go all that way was a challenge in itself.

"When we got to the great glacier, it was amazing and very emotional."

"I got to know Stephanie quite well and she was a very nice person."

The trekkers met up in London last month for a reunion at the Ritz - giving them the chance to catch up and talk about their once-in-a-lifetime challenge.