A CLEETHORPES event has helped to keep the fundraising wheels turning for the Bottom's Up Appeal – raising more than £4,240.

Mabel Rudd, 72, of Cormorant Drive, Grimsby, organised a five-mile sponsored wheelchair push along the resort's seafront.

Despite bad weather, around 50 of Mabel's friends and family members took part, pushing her from Anthony's Bank Road car park, Humberston, to Wonderland and back.

She said she was "thrilled" with the number of people who took part.

She said: "I originally set a target of just £500, but the amount of donations just keeps getting better and better. There is still a lot to be counted, so the sky's the limit."

As reported, Mabel is confined to a wheelchair due to a condition known as cerebellar degeneration, which has caused the parts of the brain responsible for muscle co-ordination and balance to deteriorate and die.

She has also undergone two emergency operations for burst stomach ulcers and now has a colostomy bag.

Mabel decided to do the sponsored wheelchair push in aid of the Bottom's Up Appeal to say thank you to the staff at Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, who treated her.

Judy Phillips, wife of chairman of the Bottom's Up Appeal, Ian Phillips, met the fundraisers during the event to show her appreciation.

She said: "Mabel is such a lovely cheerful woman and we are very grateful for the money she has raised for the appeal.

"Hopefully, more people will see the efforts made by her and feel inspired to do something themselves to help."

You can still sponsor Mabel by calling (01472) 588160 or visiting www.justgiving.com/MABEL-RUDD

For all the latest news about the Bottom's Up appeal, keep checking your Grimsby Telegraph, or log on to www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/bottomsup