Norfolk dads complete Coast to Coast walk for hospital baby unit

Two dads who have had children born prematurely walked the width of England to help a hospital baby unit.

Friends Martin Church and Matt Dyke walked the 190 miles (306km) Coast to Coast route to raise funds for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit.

Both of Mr Church's children, Charlie and Mabel, were helped by the unit and Mr Dyke's daughter Rosa was five weeks premature in 2014.

The pair raised £7,680 for the unit.

Mr Church's son Charlie arrived eight weeks early in 2018 and his daughter Mabel was 14 weeks premature in December 2021.

He said the challenge was "a lot tougher than we expected".

"Being from Norfolk with no hills, the terrain really hurt us," said the 41-year-old from Horsford, near Norwich.

He said, however, they met lots of "fantastic people" along the route, saw plenty of wildlife and they were "really pleased" with the amount raised for the unit.

They completed the walk in under six days.

"Now time to get the feet up and rest up for a little while," Mr Church added.

The Coast to Coast route, devised by famous writer and walker Alfred Wainwright goes through the Lake District, over the Pennines and across the North York Moors, before finishing at Robin Hood's Bay.

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