A PAIR of friends have been inspired by a famous journalist to walk from pier to pier in poo costumes to fundraise for cancer charities.

Zoe Fielder and Jo Lord, of Thorpe, will walk from Clacton Pier to Walton Pier in memory of Dame Deborah James and to fundraise for Bowel Babe and Bowel Cancer UK.

Dame Deborah James sadly died from cancer in June after a six year battle and documented her process through the You, Me and the Big C podcast.

Zoe was inspired by Dame Deborah’s journey because of the similarities they share as women and mothers.

She said: “I’ve followed her podcast for quite some time and was devastated by her fatal prognosis.

“When she died I was gutted and wanted to do something to raise awareness, dressing up in a poo costume for a walk is nothing compared to what cancer patients go through daily.

“Dame Deborah was a young woman, only 35-years-old when she was diagnosed and a mother with young children.

“I’m 50 and a mum as well so it really saddened me, especially because she found out so late because she assumed the symptoms like tiredness were normal.”

Zoe will be walking with her friend of 26 years Jo and the two are prepared to overcome their personal challenges to reach their goal.

Jo had a stroke in 2017 and suffers with seizures and chronic fatigue, and Zoe has a bad back from a sledging accident when she was 18.

The pair have been building up their fitness with practice walks around the area.

Zoe added: “We are breaking it up and doing staggered training, we’ve done things like walking from the end of Pier Avenue in Clacton to Walton Pier and back again.

“This week we are going from Holland Haven Country Park to Clacton Pier.”

Zoe believes the work Dame Deborah has done to raise awareness for bowel cancer is great but more can be done.

She added: “The age for poo tests is down from 60 to 50 which is good but I hope people take their symptoms more seriously.”

The pair will walk on Sunday, August 21, to donate visit bit.ly/3JfGVVJ.