A GROUP of Wiltshire Council staff are preparing to walk the 55-mile White Horse Challenge.

The 16-strong team plan to split the course between them and cover the entire distance.

The White Horse Challenge raises money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and is sponsored by the Gazette & Herald and sister paper the Wiltshire Times. It takes in some of the county’s White Horses.

The workers, from the council’s adult social care team in Chippenham, will take part on July 7 and 8.

Team member Dawn Beckett, an occupational therapist from Chippen-ham, has a good reason for supporting the air ambulance as it flew her son, Chris, 19, to hospital after he was involved in a crash on the A429 at Hullaving-ton last September.

She said: “There were concerns Chris had internal injuries and he was airlifted to the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

“He had a broken wrist and a bruised liver and he spent five days in hospital but is fine now. You don’t realise how much one trip like that costs the air ambulance charity. They do a fantastic job and I can’t thank them enough for what they did for Chris. I don’t know what we would have done without them.”

Mrs Beckett is an experienced walker, but for some of her colleagues the challenge will be a new experience. “We have started a 12-week training programme to get us prepared,” she said.

There is also a seven-mile route, which is ideal for families, on Sunday, July 8.

For more information, visit www.whitehorse challenge.co.uk