A HANDFORTH great-grandmother who celebrated her 90th birthday by firewalking has raised more than £3,000 for the British Red Cross.

Norah Wilshere, of Woodlands Road, and her family walked over a bed of hot embers outside The Bridge Hotel, in Prestbury, on Sunday, October 16.

To date, Norah’s firewalk has raised more than £2,885 following the event, with money still to count and gift aid expected to take the figure over the £3,300 mark.

She told the Wilmslow Guardian: “It went very well, raising so much money for the British Red Cross.

“The walk over coals was okay – I did it barefoot, my daughters did it too, and nobody got burnt.

“It was a big success, there was quite a number of people who came down on the day and the weather was lovely too.”

Norah has volunteered with the British Red Cross for almost 40 years, working at HM Prison Styal and the Redesmere Centre on a weekly basis.

She decided to do something daring to raise a target of £2,000 for the charity instead of asking for presents last month.

Sue Wilshere, Norah’s daughter, is grateful for the support her “intrepid” mum received for the occasion.

She said: “The day went really well, we had lots of family and friends who came down that we were expecting to see, and quite a lot of people turned up that we didn’t know to support her too.

“We’ve raised over £3,000 including gift aid, which is a really fantastic achievement, and we have a few more anonymous donations to trickle in too.

“A very big thank you to you all for your generous and kind support.”