STAFF from a Dursley estate agents completed a sponsored walk at the weekend, in support of Becky Kemp, who was left paralysed after a devastating stroke.

Fifteen colleagues from Bennett Jones, on Parsonage Street, took a circular route from Dursley via Uley and raised over £3,000 to help towards Becky’s fundraising campaign.

A former Rednock School pupil, Becky, 34, suffered a brain stem stroke in 2019 and has since been paralysed from the neck down.

She now lives with a rare condition called locked-in syndrome, which means she cannot eat, drink or speak, but rather communicates using eye movements.

Becky is currently living at the Dean Neurological Rehabilitation Centre in Gloucester, where she is being cared for and learning to live with her condition.

In the future it is hoped that Becky will be able to leave the centre, but her new home will need many adaptations to meet her physical needs, plus she will need a care package to help her deal with life after the stroke, and technology to enable her to control as much as is possible in her new environment.

Becky is the sister of Rich who works at Bennett Jones and the office wanted to support Rich’s family who are fundraising for the additional equipment needed to support Becky’s needs.

Jon Ashton, Bennett Jones director said: "We wanted to support Rich and his family for a long time, however the restrictions and lockdowns kept delaying our plans.

"Finally, we were able to get together this month and what better way to support than to walk our stunning countryside.

"On reflection, it was also great for the team to all get together, as many of us have had to work remotely over the past year."

So, on Sunday, 15 members of Bennett Jones staff, all with varying walking abilities, accompanied by three of their dogs walked the local countryside stopping in at Uley for refreshments.

"We really do live in a beautiful spot and thank goodness for the weather," said Sally Taylor who works in the sales team and who organised the walk.

"We are of course a little biased, being estate agents, but we all commented on our walk how lucky we are to live here."

Rich, Becky’s brother, said "I want to thank Sally for organising a brilliant event, all at Bennett Jones for taking part and to everyone who sponsored us – the £3,000+ raised has helped take us towards our initial target of £30,000.

"Our family will continue to raise money to help Becky and we have more fundraising events planned, including a live music event later this year."

To donate to Becky’s fundraiser visit: bit.ly/2NVt3rH