A BOURNEMOUTH couple taking on a charity walk have had to recalculate their route, due to the suspension of the Sandbanks Ferry.

Sue and Richard Burnett, of Westbourne Rotary, had been planning to walk from Swanage to Bournemouth, via the ferry, on Thursday, July 25. Their friends, Martin and Gill Blanchard, from East Sussex, are taking on a sponsored bike ride the following weekend, with both couples raising money to help villagers in a remote village in The Gambia, West Africa, which they visited together in February.

News that the ferry will now be out of action for at least a month, led to the Bournemouth team re-thinking the challenge, and the pair have now decided to take on a longer walk from Bournemouth Pier and back, via Hengistbury Head and Sandbanks, with Richard then joining the East Sussex contingent for the last 50 miles of their bike ride to finish off the group's challenge.

Money raised by both couples will go towards The Gambia Garden Project, to provide fencing around two village vegetable gardens and replace two water tanks.

To sponsor the team, donate online at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gambia-garden-project