A WOMAN whose parents have both been affected by dementia will take part in Bournemouth’s first Memory Walk this weekend.

The walk, organised by the Alzheimer's Society, will take place on the seafront on Saturday, October 13, after it had to be postponed last month due to bad weather.

Tanya Jones, 46, will walk in memory of her dad who passed away in January with Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia and her mum who is currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

She said: “My mum has had dementia for six years now. She was a very lively character who always enjoyed meeting friends and holding parties. She was involved in the local line dancing community and danced regularly at events and attended many classes. She was also in charge of the local women’s Red Hat Society and helped arrange and attend events in the community.

“We first noticed there was a problem when her speech started to become muddled and she started to find it difficult to use her mobile phone and computer, when she was always great with IT for her age.

“We battled to get her to the doctors for some time to get her assessed, as she was convinced there was nothing wrong with her, but on her first assessment the doctor said things were not right at all.”

Following a scan, Tanya’s mum was diagnosed with dementia but unfortunately by that stage it had already taken over half of her mum’s brain and was very aggressive.

Tanya said: “I am hoping to raise awareness of dementia by doing the Memory Walk and to raise money for vital studies into a treatment and possible cure one day. My nan, and now my mum and dad, have all been impacted by this disease, and it worries me that other family members may too be affected by it someday, so research is so important.”

Derek Dodd, operations manager for Alzheimer’s Society in Dorset and Somerset, said: “Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes.

“We’re calling on people with dementia, family, friends and teams from across Bournemouth, and the surrounding area, to unite against dementia this autumn. Walk with us at Bournemouth Memory Walk, or organise your own event, to help defeat dementia.”

Registration for the walk closes on Thursday, October 11.

To sign up, visit memorywalk.org.uk.