A Long Lee woman has just returned from trekking along the Great Wall of China in aid of a learning disability charity.

Sandra Carter walked eight miles a day for six days along sections of the famous wall, raising at least £3,700 for Mencap.

The walk was divided between renovated sections of the wall and the ruins, which proved trickier.

Sandra, 60, of Harden Road, said: "It was brilliant but hard, and it was a good job I'd prepared. There were lots of ups and downs and it was particularly hard along the broken down bits of the wall."

Each day began with a 6am start, while the trekking party of 32 were rewarded with a bonfire every night near the lodges where they stayed.

Sandra, who retired from Airedale Hospital in June, arrived back in England last Sunday after ten days away.

After six days walking, she also enjoyed a trip to Beijing -- China's capital city -- where the locals were enjoying one of the country's week-long "golden holidays" in historic Tiananmen Square.

She said: "It was like a bank holiday and Tiananmen Square was packed. We were stood shoulder to shoulder."

Sandra, pictured, had to raise funds for more than a year to pay the required minimum of £2,500 for the trip. She eventually smashed that barrier and has currently raised £3,700. However, that figure is still rising.