Keeper set for 85-mile charity walk

Friends Joey Newson, Simon Grand and Chris Maxwell are taking part in an 85 mile charity walk

Maxwell will set out on an 85 mile walk in May with two pals to raise money for Brian House Children’s hospice.

Twenty five-year-old Chris will walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall – the Roman barrier which separated England from Scotland.

He will tackle the route alongside Joey Newson, 24, who coaches in Fleetwood’s centre of excellence and Simon Grand, 31 who plays for Barrow AFC.

Their journey will kick off at a date to be decided on May fromRavenglass, West Cumbria.

Chris, who joined Fleetwood Town in 2012, decided to raise cash for Brian House after visiting the hospice with his team mates at Christmas.

He said: “The idea came to us to simply raise a bit of money.

“After I visited Brian House last year I donated there and then, and decided to do something challenging to make people aware and hopefully come forward to sponsor us.

“I realised how hard working the staff were and how much of an impact having an ill child would be and how much it costs for them to provide the equipment, so we wanted do something and encourage others to do the same.”

The walk is expected to take between four and five days for the trio and they hope to achieve 21 miles per day.

Chris, from Llandudno in North Wales, added: “We’ll be taking a back-pack each and and a tent between us. It’s obviously going to be hard but also a bit of fun, we are really looking forward to it.” The friends hope to raise more than £2,000.

Chris took centre stage in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Highbury on Thursday.

Despite saving a Barnsley penalty, he was unable to prevent Fleetwood losing 4-2, missing out on a Wembley appearance in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy

Chris, Simon and Joey have set up a JustGiving page ahead of their Summer challenge

“We want to use our status in the community and our social media following for a good cause, so hopefully people will start to donate.” said Chris.

n To follow Chris, Simon and Joey’s journey in the lead up to the challenge and to donate visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com and search for Joseph Newson.