WALKING reminds Vanessa Trent of her late husband.

The grandmother-of-eight, of Stour View Avenue, Mistley, used to tread the footpaths of her village with Paul before he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2007.

He will be remembered by Vanessa, daughter Naomi Trent-Perry and granddaughter Amelia Trent-Perry, 14, of Hamilton Road, Colchester, when they take part in the St Helena Hospice Midnight Walk, on June 9.

Married for 43 years, Vanessa said her good-humoured husband, Paul, would walk from Mistley to Harwich if there was a pint involved. When medication could no longer control the unpredictable seizures the tumour caused, country walks were no longer part of Paul’s day.

The couple found routine in St Helena Hospice instead.

The hospice’s day centre in Jackson Road, Clacton, took care of Paul once a week for nine months.

She said: “It was five or six hours for me to do what I wanted without feeling guilty.

“The time apart gave us things to talk about and I can’t explain enough how caring the people were. Paul was a member of Tendring Campaign for Real Ale and they even took him to the pub.”

In September last year, Paul took a turn for the worse and Vanessa admitted she needed full-time help.

She said: “It was just a relief knowing they were there, at the end of the phone, or for support. One of my daughters lives in New Zealand and they had a shower and towels ready for when she arrived to see Paul.

“I can’t explain how caring and kind the people are. I hope more people take part in this walk. You just don’t realise what a hospice does for you until you use it.”

The women-only walk starts and finishes at Colchester United’s Weston Homes Community Stadium. For more, visit www.colchester midnightwalk.co.uk