A Droitwich hospital worker has been pushing herself to the limit during the Commonwealth Games to help people struggling with mental health.

Leah Boot, a 25-year-old hospital porter at the Droitwich Spa Hospital, has taken on the Move 22 Challenge for Comic Relief.

The challenge encourages people to run, swim, or cycle 22 miles throughout the Commonwealth Games, but Ms Boot has gone one step further and doubled her target to 44 miles.

She said: “I'm quite an active person and have always been into fitness so picking the Move 22 Challenge seemed right up my street.

“As a hospital porter, I am always on the move taking patients to and from operating theatres, X-rays and everything in between.

“I learned that Comic Relief had set up this challenge to raise money for young people who had faced challenges early on in life and who had particularly struggled with their mental health.

“This really resonated with me as I have struggled on and off with my own mental health and found exercise really helped to clear my mind.”

Ms Boot, who has worked at the hospital since November 2019, hoped to raise £250 but surpassed that total within days of launching her fundraising page.

She is now looking to reach £500 by August 13, her 26th birthday.

Ms Boot’s friends, family and colleagues at the hospital have been supporting her during her challenge.

She said: “My colleagues have been amazing, people from across the hospital have donated and wished me luck whenever I have seen them.

“Family and friends have also been really supportive, letting me know how proud they are of what I am doing at 6.30am each morning as I get ready to go to the swimming pool.

“The support from all parts of my life has been wonderful.”

She added: “I think the hardest part has probably been the very early mornings.

“The heatwave was also challenging, I cycled 13.7 miles when the temperature was at its height, my face was like a tomato afterwards!”

Ms Boot will completed the challenge yesterday, Monday August 8, ahead of the Birmingham Games’ closing ceremony.

For further information or to donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bmi-droitwich-spa-hospitals-move-22-challenge.