TROPICAL diseases and killer creepy crawlies don't frighten Annie Turner.

She's probably seen worse. The remarkable 65-year-old from Pembridge is preparing to survive nine days in the Amazon Rainforest.

Friends have got their money on Annie sticking it out. Next February she will embark on a celebrity-style hike and camp on a journey to the foot of the Andes, avoiding jungle horrors like yellow fever, typhoid and spiders along the way. She has been told not to stray from camp.

"I'm not frightened of it, I'm looking forward to it. It's the excitement of being in Ecuador and I'm looking forward to meeting the local people who have built some of the facilities we are staying in, right in the jungle."

Annie, who was care manager at Waverley House, Leominster, before her retirement, boldly signed up for the challenge in aid of Acorns Children's Hospice Three Counties Appeal, when she heard someone had dropped out. Also journeying into the unknown and raising money for a new hospice will be the care home's Sheila Cole, Sheila Tate and Sue Clarke.

Annie's care background has drawn her to Acorns.

"I have done an awful lot of fundraising in my life. I used to work for Age Concern. Acorns is an extremely worth while cause.

Support

She added: ''There can be nothing more horrific for a family than the loss of a child. Acorns is for terminally ill children and provides support from birth to age 19."

She became aware of the importance of receiving help years ago when her mother had Alzheimer's. "It was at a time when there were no facilities for help and nothing for carers. So I know first hand the value of such places as the hospice," she said.

Annie has also done an awful lot of travelling. She has survived the Australian outback, living with Aborigines and even taking up their art. She's had guns pointed at her in Sierra Leone, Africa. "I saw the start of the up-rising there. There were 14-year-olds with rifles telling you to stop."

The Amazon presents a tamer challenge, mostly physical for Annie, a former smoker, who now walks four miles a day.

She needs to raise £2,500 to go. Fundraising events include a cheese and wine party at her home on September 6 from 3pm to 9pm and, bravely, a tandem parachute jump from around 10,000 ft on September 27.

She is also planning a trek, fittingly along the Acorn Walk on Offa's Dyke.

Anyone who would like to attend the cheese and wine party at Noke Cottage, Noke Lane, Pembridge or support Annie can call her on 01544 388520.