Sponsored by
Arctic expeditionfor paramedic Lee
Thursday, 4:40pm - THE chance of coming face-to-face with a bear is probably enough to put most people off a charity walk, but not one Boston fundraiser.
This is because Lee Hatfield, 42, of Gipsey Bridge, who soon will be trekking through the Arctic Circle for worthy causes, has an ace up his sleeve.
"I can run really fast," he said.
Lee, a former Kitwood Boys' pupil who now works as a paramedic, is stepping out of his ambulance and on to a 200km walk through Norway, Sweden and Finland.
A keen hiker, Lee has completed the Three Peaks Challenge, but still managed to accidentally volunteer for the anticipated nine-day trek.
After listening to a relative of one of the international team involved in the expedition talk about it, Lee said: "That sounds like a good thing to do," adding sarcastically: "You could do with a paramedic."
In no time at all, Lee was receiving e-mails about the event, and once he had learnt a little more, was on board.
Formerly of the military, Lee says he relishes such a challenge.
"It is not something I have done before, so I'm getting really excited," he said.
"I'm the kind of person who, if he sees a big hill, thinks he has got to get up there. I'll do it just because it's there," he added.
Lee says weather conditions could vary from sun to snow, but knows he will face around 18 hours of daylight each day, and ascents equivalent to the highest peaks in England.
The money raised from his efforts will go to Boston and District Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, and to the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA).
The charities are close to Lee's heart; he not only encountered such loss in his position with the East Midlands Ambulance Service, where he is based at Rutland, but also has a close friend whose daughter was stillborn.
Of the DLRAA, he said: "It can quite literally be the difference between life and death."
Lee has set himself a target of 2,000. To sponsor him visit: www.justgiving.com/leehatfield999
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Weather for Boston, Lincolnshire
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: North east
