A blindfolded charity walk along the Pentewan Trail into St Austell was organised jointly by a Cornish shopping centre and a local fundraiser to help raise money to train and name a guide dog for the blind.

White River Place, based in the heart of St Austell, helped organise and manage the event, called A Walk in the Dark, on Saturday (June 4) to support a fundraising campaign first launched by Claire Cooper from Charlestown.

Claire, who suffered from visual impairment problems as a child, has already generated £8,550 for the charity Guide Dogs UK to help fund the training of a new guide dog for a blind or visually impaired person, and she recently ran the London Marathon to raise more money for the cause.

With the help of White River Place, Claire staged A Walk in the Dark as a blindfolded daylight trek. Groups of walkers from local organisations and businesses including Cornwall College, Santander Bank, St Austell Rugby Club Angels and St Austell Guides were sponsored to walk the four-mile Pentewan Trail to St Austell, finishing in Aylmer Square in White River Place, all whilst blindfolded so they would experience what life is like for the visually impaired.

To make a donation to sponsor the walkers and support Claire towards her £12,000 target for Guide Dogs UK, visit Claire’s Justgiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/Claireycoops