A BRIDGWATER mum is tackling a one million step challenge to raise money for charity.

Charlie Brazier decided to raise money for Diabetes UK after her 11-year-old daughter, Skye, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2019.

Before Skye was diagnosed, she struggled to walk far and could not make it up hills, but the family joked she was just lazy.

Soon, she started to lose weight, drink gallons of water and her hair started to fall out.

A urine sample at the doctors confirmed she had high glucose levels, and after being admitted to Musgrove Park Hospital, Skye was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

She was in hospital for a week.

Charlie said: “It was such a scary time, bombarded with information, not knowing what to think.

"Even though the hospital and the nurses were great in trying to teach us all that we needed to know.”

Somerset County Gazette: ONE MILLION STEPS: Charlie Brazier and daughter Skye

Skye, who was nine at the time, soon came out of hospital and managed to do all her injections herself. But Charlie was worried about Skye's condition deteriorating, and how she would cope back at school.

As a result, Charlie is now determined to help raise as much as money as possible for Diabetes UK.

Despite not walking long distances before, Charlie is now averaging 12,000 steps a day.

She also has her husband Craig by her side, a lorry driver, and he has also committed to walking one million steps for the charity.

Phaedra Perry, regional head Diabetes UK South West, said: “Over the course of the pandemic we’ve seen demand for our own services reach record levels, while our funding has been significantly impacted.

"More so than ever, people with diabetes need us, but we need your support to be able to continue fighting their corner.

“We want to thank Charlie and Craig for their unwavering support.

"Without them and people like them, we simply would not be able to offer help to the thousands of people with diabetes contacting us, to campaign to keep people with diabetes safe in the workplace, or to invest in the latest in vital ground-breaking research.”

To support Charlie and Craig visit step.diabetes.org.uk/teams/braziers.