A WREXHAM woman will be putting her best foot forward in September as she prepares to trek across Iceland to raise money for the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB).

Gaynor Spencer, who cared for her blind father, said: 'The RNIB had been good to us and I decided it was time to give something back.'

Gaynor has been fundraising since the age of 14, with events ranging from sponsored walks to organising lorries of food for Romania.

And now that she is approaching, 'the dreaded 50' (as she calls it), she has taken up the biggest test of her fundraising skills yet.

Gaynor will be trekking for five days across Iceland. She will be walking an average of six hours a day through the spectacular, but gruelling, terrain in Oraefajokull Massif in the frozen south east of the island.

Gaynor says she has always wanted to see the ice fields and remembers Iceland as being the first place she could pick out on the map as a little girl.

But the hard work has already started for Gaynor, who, having already lost three stone, is undergoing a rigorous training programme.

She trains at Pulse Gym behind Wrexham Rugby Club, and it has provided her with free use of the gym and a personal trainer in preparation for the trek.

In order to complete the trek, Gaynor must raise £1,900 - and £1,500 of that must be in the can by July 1.

Not only has Gaynor been completing the hefty training schedule, she has also been tirelessly fundraising for the event.

Her efforts include a sponsored walk up Snowdon with Wrexham Rugby Club - which should seem like a Sunday stroll compared to the Iceland trek.

Gaynor said: 'I have done lots of fundraising in the past, but this is my biggest challenge ever. I have never committed myself to raising such a large sum of money before either.'

The RNIB provides assistance to blind and partially sighted people throughout the UK, with talking books, braille and computer training, as well as fighting for equal rights for blind people and providing general support.

Gaynor still needs sponsors for the RNIB trek, so if you feel inspired by her efforts and would like to help or offer equipment for the challenge, contact Gaynor on 01978 364418.