Edinburgh RAF veteran to trek across Sahara Desert in aid of Help for Heroes

AN air force veteran is set to take on a grueling trek across one of the harshest environments on Earth in a bid to raise money for former military personnel.

Fomer air cadet Zoe Foster , from Livingston, is joining forces with forces veteran Dianne McLeish, 62, to raise thousands of pounds for Help for Heroes.

Diane McLeish, 62, spent over 30 years treating and evacuating wounded servicepeople from warzones in Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Gulf as an RAF medic and will now join a team of fundraisers aiming to walk more than 24 miles in the searing heat of the Sahara Desert.

The troop will set off from the Jebel Sarho mountains, passing through oases, vast areas of open desert and hundreds of sand dunes before they arrive at the finishing line in the small town of Taghbalt, Morocco as part of a charitable effort to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Diane, from Clermiston, has already raised more than £300,000 for the charity and will be joined by god-daughter Zoe Foster to make up the only Scottish representation on the trip.

Dubbed the “Haggis Hunters”, the pair will join 40 other trekkers for the journey – expected to last around three days.

Diane admitted she was looking forward to the challenge and revealed her own experiences in the Air Force inspired her to get out and fundraise herself.

She said: “I saw in action what the charity did when I was serving with Afghanistan, and how they helped wounded and sick veterans.”

“I believe that the money raised by volunteers is well spent by the charity, in particular supporting individuals who need help at home, with mental health issues, supporting them in returning to work and in recovery through sport.”

Following her departure from the RAF in 2009, Diane became Help for Heroes’ volunteer county co-ordinator for Moray and the Highlands and embarked on a series of fundraising efforts including a testing 50-mile South African wilderness challenge and lighting a beacon at the top of Ben Nevis to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.

Pastry chef Zoe, 43, also has a military background after serving in the Air Cadets in Portobello for more than 20 years and made it to the semi-finals of Slimming World’s Women of the year 2014 having dropped eight-and-a-half stone.

Speaking about the decision to join Diane on the challenge, mum-of-four Zoe said she had been rigorously preparing for the expedition, adding: “Diane and I always said we would do a Help for Heroes challenge together so when she decided to do the Sahara trek, I agreed to join her.”

“I took up walking a few years ago to lose weight. I did the Double Moonwalk in 2015, then started running in 2017 and got the bug. I have since done several 10km runs, three half marathons last year, and have signed up for the Stirling Marathon in April”.

Zoe joked: “I am not too worried about the actual walking but I am not so good in the heat as I am a typical ginger Scot.”

The pair set off on their trek on Thursday, February 28. Donations can be made online.

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