CONGRATULATIONS to the eight expat women who completed their 100km charity walk from Lezay in the Deux-Sèvres to Saintes in the Charente-Maritime.

Sandie Hill, Pauline Reay, Joan Coleman, Christine Cope, Christine Parsons, Sue Alexander, Pauline Mackie and Anne Benthack walked from Vezay in the Deux-Sèvres to the Arc de Triomphe in Saintes in just three and a half days, where a glass of bubbly awaited each of them.

The team raised more than €1,000 for Help for Heroes, the UK charity that helps British servicemen and women who have been injured in conflict zones.

The women would like to thank Steven and Amanda Sweetman-Bancroft, Val and Allen Cahill and Ruth and Tony Vaughan for providing them with help along the route.

You can still donate online by visiting www.justgiving.com/lezay-saintes