WOMEN taking part in next month’s Starlight Walk may notice a furry fundraiser in their midst.

Tubbs the ferret, along with owner Linda Heap, will be tackling the 10k route around Swindon on Saturday June 25 in what has become Prospect Hospice’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

With registrations closing on May 30, organisers are hoping that many more participants will join Tubbs – who is the only boy taking part in the women-only event.

Linda, who works in the Business First department at Swindon College, said: “Tubbs and I will be walking with a group called the Ladies Who Limp, made up from people at the college.

“He’s become a bit of a celebrity at work, and everyone’s said they’ll sponsor him. He’s even got his own online sponsorship campaign and is aiming to raise £350 for Prospect.”

Linda, from Ferndale, rescued Tubbs when he was just a few months old. He was previously owned by a woman who hadn’t realised how much care ferrets need.

“They are great pets, but do require lots of regular exercise and at least two hours’ interaction every day,” she said. “When you take on a ferret you have to commit yourself to full-time care and attention.”

Although his little legs might not carry him all the way round, Linda knows that Tubbs is up for the tough challenge facing him.

“I own two other ferrets, Betsy and Murphy, who, even though they’re exercised regularly are probably too lazy to take part in the whole walk.

“But Tubbs has regular walks around Lydiard and Coate Water, so he should be up for the challenge.

“And if he doesn’t manage to walk the whole way, I’ve got a special cage for him on wheels that also works as a back-pack, so he can take regular rests on the way round.

“I’m even hoping to get him a little Starlight Walk T-shirt, so he’ll feel fully part of the walk."

Linda is taking part as a way of saying thank you to the nurses who looked after her partner’s father.

Terry Beynon died at Prospect Hospice on May 9, and Linda will be walking the route in his memory.

She said: “I can’t express how grateful we are for the support the nurses, doctors and volunteers gave us across those final 48 hours, or the constant guidance we have been given by the network of nurses and volunteers from the Prospect.

“The level of care that Terry and the family have received over the past few months, from home visits to his respite break, was amazing and I hope that my commitment to this and future fundraising events for the Prospect goes some way to repay the massive debt that we will always feel we owe to them.

“It was above and beyond anything we would expect from private treatment and yet was completely free as they are a charity – but only by receiving donations can this remain possible.”

The Starlight Walk

The Starlight Walk, sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, takes place on June 25 and is asking women from across the region to take part in a starlit stroll through the town to raise vital funds for the Prospect Hospice.

This year, the walk starts and ends at the Croft Sports Centre in Old Town, and takes walkers past the Wroughton-based hospice for the first time in the walk’s history.

To register, visit www.

prospect-hospice.net/starlight.

Registration costs £15 and walkers are encouraged to aim to raise at least £100 in sponsorship.

Tubbs can be sponsored at www.justgiving.com/Linda-Heap7