AN 11-year-old girl who underwent open heart surgery two years ago has climbed the peaks of the Malvern Hills to raise more than £1,750 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Lucy Edmunds from Staunton near Coleford used to struggle to walk uphill and said she always finished last in her sports day races.

But two years on from her life changing op, she walked the full nine miles of the Malverns, taking 34,365 steps and smashing her £500 fundraising target along the way.

The Osbaston Church in Wales Primary School pupil in Monmouth, said before starting her challenge: “I am walking the hills that I couldn’t walk before for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity because they mended my heart, I want to thank them.

“They were the first hills I walked up after my op and it felt so free.”

Mum Cecila Lindberg added: “Lucy was born with a hole in her heart, but in early 2016 she developed another complication: her right ventricle became constricted by a muscle bundle and her heart was having to work extra hard just to pump the blood out.

“This is both painful, and it made her out of breath, and the harder the heart worked, the bigger the muscle bundle became and the blockage got worse.

“Lucy was struggling to keep up with her friends, and was upset to have her singing affected by breathlessness as well as always coming last in every race at sports day.

“Going for a walk with her parents was no fun and climbing a hill was just painful, so in June 2016 Lucy had major open heart surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“But only five weeks later, she bounded up one of the hills to the peak of the Malverns.”

The hill walk on Saturday, June 30 in searing heat took seven and a half hours and covered all the Malvern peaks across the top paths, which meant doing a few extra trips up to outlying hills.

Lucy was the only person who did the whole distance and was supported in sections by her mum and their dog Rhys, her dad Keith and family friend Sally.

At the finish line, she was met by her best friends and celebrated with an “epic picnic.”

Laura Savory, senior fundraising manager at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity said: “We’re so grateful to Lucy for her generosity and support. “The money raised will help to make a huge difference to young patients and families from across the UK.”

To read more about Lucy’s story and to donate, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-edmunds07