The Hartlepool women who danced through the ages for two great charities

And a Hartlepool woman, who lost her husband to Motor Neurone Disease, has praised the dancers for their superb boost.

Sandra Hamilton was one of the members of the dancercise class which meets at the Central Hub. They wore costumes from the different decades of Queen Elizabeth ll’s reign as they twisted, samba’d and waltzed their way through the fundraiser.

It was an extra special day for Sandra as the money raised was being shared between the Motor Neurone Disease Association and research into Alzheimers disease.

Sandra, 76, has held fundraising events ever since her beloved husband Brian died of MND five years ago at the age of 75.

She said: “We went around with a collection bucket. We did a short version of it several weeks ago and then last week again.

“It was so successful we decided to it again for such a special occasion.”

She praised the group’s instructor Karida Ferry for being ‘amazing and dedicating so much of her time to pull it together as we really are only an exercise class.”

But modest Karida said the praise should go to her dancercise class members and added: “The ladies worked so hard with numerous rehearsals but also showed dedication practising at home as well. They had never performed publicly before so this was huge but they never faltered. They supported each other and I am really proud of them.”

Sandra’s husband Brian had been a fit and energetic man but he fell ill in Bulgaria in September 2016 and Sandra said they originally thought he had had a stroke.

On their return home they paid privately to see someone at Middlesbrough’s James Cook hospital before he was diagnosed.

Sandra has taken on a variety of fundraising challenges over the years including tackling an inflatable obstacle course in 2018.

In 2020, Sandra walked 100 miles in two weeks in all weathers.

In 2021, she held a fundraising Ceilidh in the King Oswy Club and raised more than £5,500. She later added to the total when she raised £345 with a fundraising event at the Cosmopolitan pub in town.