THE daughter of a keen hillwalker who suffered a heart attack is urging people to take part in a walk at Calke Abbey to raise vital funds for the British Heart Foundation.
Stella Hayward is one of those taking part after her father, Stan, suffered a heart attack "completely out of the blue".
Stella, from Ticknall, said: "Dad was the last person you'd expect to have a heart attack.
"He lives in Cumbria and he was out hillwalking most days. He wasn't overweight, didn't drink a lot and was always very active so there weren't really any indicators or warning signs.
"He'd caught the bus home and when he stepped off the bus, he collapsed.
"We later found out his arteries had been furring up for a number of years."
Now Stella, who works at Western Power Distribution, which is sponsoring the event, is lacing up her boots to take on the Calke Abbey challenge on October 6.
The 36-year-old, who will be leading a team from the company, said: "Heart disease can affect anyone, even if you think you're leading a healthy lifestyle.
"It's a great cause to support so that breakthroughs and research towards finding a cure can be funded."
The charity is looking for walkers to take on either a two-mile family walk or nine-mile hike.
BHF fund-raising manager Sophie Jardine said: "We're so grateful to Stella and everyone at Western Power Distribution for their generosity in sponsoring this event and their enthusiasm in signing up for it. Events like the Calke Abbey Walk will help fund the breakthroughs of the future."
Entry is £10 for adults, £5 for children and free for under-sixes, with all participants receiving a BHF medal.
To register online go to www.bhf.org.uk/calke, contact the events team on 0845 130 8663 or e-mail frsupport@bhf.org.uk.
BHF funds thousands of research projects around the UK that are fighting heart disease.
