Man kayaks 136 miles for sister with cancer

A paramedic has completed a 136-mile (218.9km) kayak trip to raise money for his sister who has cancer.

Edward Williams paddled for three days from his home in Barrow upon Soar, in Leicestershire, to the Lincolnshire seaside town of Cleethorpes.

The 38-year-old decided to raise funds for Cancer Research UK after his sister Corinne Stewart was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.

His challenge began on Thursday, which coincided with his sister's 43rd birthday.

Mr Williams navigated the rivers Soar, Trent and then Humber on the way to the North Sea, carrying his belongings with him and camping overnight.

He said enduring "a bit of pain for a few days" was the least he could do for his sister.

Mr Williams said: "My knees aren't fantastic so I thought, 'what can I do that's insanely hard to raise lots of money for Cancer Research?'

"My shoulders are quite good so I thought 'let's do some kayaking'.

"The first day was brutal with huge locks where I had to carry my boat with all my camping equipment."

After a first leg from Leicestershire into Nottinghamshire, Mr Williams then had a "choppy" second day.

"At one point I couldn't get out of the kayak for 26 miles because of the clay banks," he said.

"On Saturday I approached the Humber Bridge which was magical, then it started to get a bit more choppy. I felt a bit dwarfed by the boats and nearly got wiped out by a wave from one of them.

"I was elated to finish, it had been so hard and the last three miles were against the tide.

"My sister's having a huge battle, and she's so strong, the least I could do was put myself through a bit of pain for a few days to raise some cash for Cancer Research."

Mr Williams's wife Lisa said: "It's been an emotional rollercoaster, it started off as a joy of being on the river but it ended up as this huge challenge.

"Me and the two children and his mother and father-in-law have been following him around, trying to give him water, restock his food and spur him on."

More than £3,000 has been pledged by supporters to an online fundraising page.

Mr Williams added: "I'm overwhelmed, the support has been fantastic."

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