THE granddaughter of a Tadley man has trekked around a coastline to keep his legacy alive and raise vital funds for charity.

Sam Jenkins and her partner Alex Keeble took on a gruelling 100-mile walk to raise vital funds and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity in memory of her granddad Dennis Nash.

On Easter Monday, Sam and Alex, 32, started their hike from Exmouth, Devon, with the pair finishing in Mr Nash’s favourite spot – Swanage in Dorset on Friday.

Sam, 25, said: “It’s been super tough. I’ve got blistered feet and the seams on my boots went due to horrendous weather conditions underfoot.”

So far, Sam has raised more than £11,000 for the charity which she has now become a young ambassador.

Mr Nash died aged 67 just 10 months after he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the most common aggressive brain tumour in adults, in September 2014.

Sam, also from Tadley, said: “Several months before he was diagnosed, he’d been to a GP about his headaches. He was tested for arthritis and when the result came back negative, he was told he didn’t need a follow-up appointment.

“But then we noticed he had memory lapses, as well as putting the phone down while having a chat or walking out of the room mid-conversation.”

After Mr Nash could not remember where he was when out driving a familiar route, he sought further medical advice with an MRI scan revealing a mass on his brain.

Surgeons removed as much of it as possible but biopsy results revealed it was a terminal grade 4 glioblastoma.

Sam added: “Grandad never thought about himself and told us, ‘Don’t think about me, think about the little kids,’ because he hated seeing children suffering and going through radiotherapy and chemotherapy like him.”

To donate, go to mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/braintumourstakeahike.

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