INTREPID Bolton woman Joyce Holden joined star trekkers for an experience of a lifetime in aid of charity.

Wrapped up in thermals and struggling with heavy duty sleeping bags, the 53-year-old joined TV presenters Mariella Frostrup and Penny Smith on a gruelling 10-day trek in the Himalayas.

As they made their way through the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal the climate was warm, but temperatures plunged to minus 7C at night.

To raise money for the Children's Society the team, who also included Chris Tarrant's wife covered 90 kilometres of rugged terrain in the unspoilt Helambu region.

Farmed by Sherpas and Buddhist monks, it is an area tourists rarely see.

Judith, who lives in Broadway, Farnworth, spent days scrambling up hills and down steep descents through meadows and dense forest.

She said: "It was very very hard and at times a bit scary but it was a real challenge and an amazing experience. The celebrities who were with us mucked in like anyone else and they were not treated any differently to everyone else."

Now the fit charity worker, who trains at Total Fitness in Walkden, is preparing to go on an African safari in September to raise more cash for the Children's Society.

She raised £2,250 from the Nepal trip and hopes to raise £2,000 for the safari.

The Society is a charity that works with some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Britain, such as runaways and teenagers on remand in adult prisons.

As part of the fund-raising Joyce will be holding a coffee morning with live entertainment by Reebok Rebels Dancers at Drummond Street Community Centre on Moss Bank Way, Astley Bridge.

The event will take place on March 2 at 10am. Entrance will be 50p.

She will also be holding a sponsored walk on March 23. Anyone interested should phone her on 405709.