A WEE COUNTY pensioner has raised thousands of pounds for charity following an entire year of gruelling challenges.

Sarah Robertson scaled her local hill, The Nebit, 100 times over the last 12 months – equivalent to climbing Mount Everest more than four times.

The 77-year-old also completed the 214-mile Southern Upland Way (SUW) over the course two-and-a-half weeks.

She took on the two mammoth fundraisers throughout 2019 in aid of MND Scotland, and has now raised a total of £3,010.77 for the charity.

Sarah chose to support the charity after losing her close friend, Sauchie’s Anne Shearer, to motor neuron disease (MND) in 2018.

Seeing the devastating effect the condition had on her friend left Sarah with a huge appreciation for her own health.

And she decided to put that health and fitness to the test with her fundraiser – and initially set a target of £1,000.

But after completing the SUW with her husband David – a task which saw the pair hike and camp wild for 17-and-a-half days straight – she had already smashed that target.

The Alva woman told the Advertiser: “I was so pleased to have raised more than £2,000 after the SUW walk that I decided my target for the year must be increased to £3,000.”

And after counting her donations up, she found that she had smashed that target too.

During a previous interview, she claimed she wanted her money to go to those working on a potential cure for MND.

She said: “The main area that I want to raise money for is the research.

"It's so important to try and find something to stop MND, because it's just such a devastating condition."

Keen to praise all those who helped her through last year as she completed her fundraiser, Sarah added: “I would like to send an enormous thank you to the people of Alva, to the RSVP Thursday walkers and to friends and family who gave me so much encouragement and financial support.

“Without their help I would never have reached my £3,000 target.”