Luton Charity Prepare for India Trek

25 June 2010, 06:00 | Updated: 25 June 2010, 09:27

A group of charity workers are setting off for India from Luton next Friday 2nd July.

The Keech Hospice Care Trek India team includes electrician Billy Byrne, from the TV show DIY SOS.

Billy, from Welwyn Garden City, along with 18 fellow trekkers will arrive in Delhi where they will create a new children's play area at a hospice.

The group will then embark on a gruelling three day trek through the Himachal Pradesh area of Northern India to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama.

They aim to raise funds for Luton-based Keech Hospice Care, which provides hospice care for adults and children's from across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

So far they have raised £41,580.

The coach is setting off from the Hospice at next Friday 2nd July.

Billy, whose daughter died when she just 20 years old, said: "When I visited Keech Hospice Care, it was heart-warming to see the care and attention the patients and their families were given.

"Everyone that is part of the hospice gives so much and puts all their energy into caring. I want to put some of my energy in too and hopefully put a smile on people's faces, in the same way the staff and volunteers do.

"My daughter, Emma, passed away as a result of cancer. I've had first hand experience of what it is like to go through that as a family, but we never saw anything like the care the hospice offers. It would have been a great relief to have such support and to have known she was being looked after. "

All of the money raised from the trek will go towards the running of both the adult and children's hospice here in Luton, so far the trekkers have raised £41,580.00.

For more information go to www.keech.org.uk