A COUPLE are preparing for a challenge of a lifetime when they take on a 2,660 mile trek from Mexico to Canada for charity this summer.

Francesca and John Roberts hope to raise more than £10,000 for St Barnabas House, the hospice at which Francesca’s father Ian Aitken, who lived in Worthing, spent his final days.

The pair are taking a six-month sabbatical from their respective jobs to walk the full length of the Pacific Crest Trail, a total of 2,660 miles.

Francesca, 30, who was born in Shoreham and lived in Thakeham before moving after she went to university, said: “My husband and I married on September 1, 2016, which I think was one of my dad’s favourite days.

“Looking back at the pictures and videos of him walking down the aisle, the smile on his face is priceless.

“Unfortunately, the next time we saw him when we got back from our honeymoon, he was given the news that he had terminal cancer and only had a few months to live.

“The cancer had spread from his pancreas (the primary) to his liver, to his lungs and was only found when he had a brain tumour, which affected his co-ordination, speech and understanding.

“The care the nurses and doctors gave him during his three-week stay was most astounding to witness.

“It was given with such compassion, respect and the utmost control to ensure his dignity in his last moments there.

“Death can’t be a comfortable experience and when it is long and drawn out I can’t think of any other way I would like to be cared for, especially if I can’t do things for myself anymore.”

The cost of all of the care services provided by St Barnabas House is more than £6 million a year, and only 21 per cent of those costs are covered by statutory funding.

Setting off from Campo in Southern California at the Mexican border in April, the pair are hoping to reach the finishing point at Manning Park on the Canadian border 173 days later in September.

Their journey will include 20 days of trekking in the mountains as they take a detour to climb Mount Whitney, the highest point in California.

www.justgiving.com/francesca-aitken.