A loving granddad is taking to the canals to raise cash in memory of his granddaughter.
Ben Williams has spent more than 30 years enjoying the country's waterways and his final major challenge of covering the reopened circular waterway around Manchester will be especially poignant.
The Bolton pensioner is backing the charity CRY – Cardiac Risk in the Young – dedicated to fighting a rare hear disorder after his granddaughter Amy died suddenly in her sleep.
Amy Williams was found by her mum one morning in April at her home in Boothstown, near Salford.
It is thought the 11-year-old died as a result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a rare condition where the heart inexplicably stops. Her parents David and Julie, who also have an older daughter Nicola, said Amy was a fit and active girl who loved dancing as well as sharing her grandfather's enthusiasm for boating.
A member of a local dancing school, she wanted to be a dance instructor.
Mr Williams, 73, a former youth worker and magistrate, said he believed the canal journey will be his last big trip – and a fitting way to remember his young granddaughter.
He said: "I thought it would be important to dedicate this cruise to her memory.
"Amy was a dancer and a lovely girl. As I have already cruised nearly all of the rest of the 8interconnnecting system of waterways, this will probably be my last major cruise. I have had an interest in boats for many years and this is the only section on waterway I haven't travelled.
"The charity tries to raise awareness of the need for young people taking part in activities to have their hearts checked every so often because you get young footballers just dying on the pitch and other sad cases."
The pair set off for two weeks travelling the South Pennine Waterways Ring, from Castlefield back via the Huddersfield and Rochdale canals.
