MIRIAM Firestone was sitting through a night shift six months ago when she had a moment of inspiration.

Upon clicking on the Help for Heroes website, she spotted a 100km trek across the Sahara desert to raise money for the charity and instantly signed up.

The 36-year-old Bourne End resident leaves with the group of 50 on October 15 for the 10 day trek and she is pleased to be helping such a worthy charity.

However, booking such an adventure on a whim drew mixed reactions from her family.

She said: “My sister laughed at me and said I was mad.”

But her father, an experienced hiker was more understanding.

Miriam has been preparing for six months trying to get herself into enough fitness to take on the sandy Sahara dunes.

She said: “I have been walking and doing quite a lot of boxing, but I don’t know how I’m going to prepare for walking on the sand.

“I’m looking forward to just getting out there and seeing it. I always wanted to got to Morocco and get out into the desert. It will be a brilliant experience.”

Miriam has pledged to raise £3000 and so far she is just shy of half the total.

To donate go to: www.justgiving.com/miriam-firestone