A couple from Chingford are to embark on a life-changing experience to raise awareness for an incurable neurological disease. 

Childhood sweethearts Caroline and Andrew Acton, both 43, of Dale View Avenue in Chingford, will set off on their five-day challenge through the Sahara Desert on November 13. 

Mrs Acton became an orphan at the age of 42 after her mother passed last year and her father Michael Taylor, 73, died in 2011 following a long and painful battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).  

PSP is caused by the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain, leading to difficulty with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing. 

It is estimated up to 4,000 people in the UK suffer with the rare condition.  

Mrs Acton cared for her father alongside carers from the PSP Association after he was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2007.

Their journey through the remote landscape will start at Ouarzazate, known as 'The Door of the Desert' located around 15 miles outside of Marrakech.   

They will be joined by traditional Berber guides, 14 other trekkers and camels which will carry their backpacks as they walk for up to eight hours a day.  

Mrs Acton said: "I am raising funds for the PSP Association in the hope that some day they may be able to find a cure for this cruel disease, but in the meantime I want to help them and to help others in the same boat that I was in a few years ago."

They will leave behind their four teenage sons and daughter but will be accompanied by the charity's mascot 'Hope the Bear' which they hope will raise the profile of PSP.

They are currently £500 off their fundraising goal of £5,000. 

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