LUCY Court fractured her spine during a snowboarding accident this year and now her fiancé and future brother-in-law are taking on a huge challenge to raise money for the hospital and trust which helped her.

The 27-year-old was snowboarding in France in February when the accident happened.

After an initial stay in a French hospital she was brought back to the Stoke Mandeville National Spinal Injuries Centre in Aylesbury, where she has received excellent support and care.

Mike Evans, who proposed to Lucy on March 11 in hospital, and his brother, Gareth, now want to raise money for a charity which promotes research into spinal injuries. The brothers, who are from Flackwell Heath, are going to run 136km on the Ridgeway from Overton Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon, over three days starting today (July 25) and finishing on Sunday.

Gareth, 33, said: “We are really excited; we have been training a lot. A little worried about the middle day when there isn’t the excitement of setting off or the joy of finishing on the horizon but overall we can’t wait to get going. “ Mike, 29, and Lucy have been together for eight years since they met at university and were living and working in France.

Gareth said: “Lucy is doing well. It a slow and long road to recovery but Lucy is a strong minded lady with a lot of positivity and will power. She is surrounded by supportive people and the incredible staff at Stoke Mandeville.“ They are raising money for The Stoke Mandeville Spinal Foundation, which is a charity established to promote research into how to improve the medical and life care of the 40,000 people living with spinal injury in the UK.

It works closely with the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville, which has been providing leading acute care and rehabilitation services for almost 70 years.

They have already raised £3,500. To sponsor them go to https://www.justgiving.com/threedayridgeway/