Bridgnorth fundraisers step to regain top spot on national leader board

Laura Yates, from Middleton Scriven, and fellow type 1 diabetics are taking part in a national charity campaign to walk one million steps by the end of September.

The 24-year-old NHS worker and her 'Team Type 1' had been top of the national fundraising leader board for months, but recently fell to second place – trailing by £300.

Granddaughter to a well-known farmer, the late Henry Yates, Laura suffers with type 1 diabetes, which has seen her self-inject insulin more than 22,000 times in the last 12 years.

Since taking up the challenge, launched by Diabetes UK in July, Team Type 1 has raised £5,551 for charity.

"We've been number one in the UK on the fundraising leader board until very recently, so we're really trying one final push to finish in the number one spot," said Laura.

"We're almost two-thirds of the way through and most of us have done over half of the steps so far which is great. There's a couple of members who have already smashed one million and are going for 1.7m."

Other members of Team Type 1 include 19-year-old Eshe Partington-Sollinger, from Cleobury Mortimer; Will Buxton, 26, from Alveley; Jon Garbett, 28, from Bridgnorth, and 25-year-old James Cox from Wolverhampton.

As opposed to type two diabetes, which 90 per cent of the four million diabetics in the UK have, type one is not linked to being overweight or inactive, and Laura said taking up the challenge has helped her meet others in similar circumstances.

She said: "It's been so good getting together and getting out and about.

"It's been really difficult during lockdown so to go out walking with different faces has been great.

"Getting to know people in the same boat who understand each other's struggles, as we all have type 1 diabetes, has been a real benefit."

Laura has about 400,000 steps to go and hopes to end the event with a walk up Snowdon.

She said: "I think of myself as an active person but I've had to make a lot of effort to get those steps in, especially when the weather's not been kind, but I'll make sure I complete them."

Kinver Edge, Longmynd and Brown Clee Hill are just some of the landscapes traversed by Laura and her team so far.

"We're so grateful to everyone that's sponsored us, as the challenge progresses it's getting tiring but those donations really keep us going," Laura added.

To support Team Type 1 on the national fundraising leader board, visit step.diabetes.org.uk/pages/laura-39