A HOUSTON woman whose dad died suddenly from heart disease is raising vital funds for charity by taking part in the annual Kiltwalk.

Rachel Campbell, 24, suffered the devastation of losing her dad William to coronary heart disease just over a year ago.

William was 52 when he died suddenly at home while he was with his family, who had no idea he had the illness.

A few months later, Rachel decided to join the fight against heart disease by taking on a tough physical challenge in her dad’s honour.

She signed up for last year’s Kiltwalk in aid of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), along with her sister Erin Campbell, friend Rebecca Oliver, cousins Gary and Jennifer Corr and Gary’s fiancée Grace Martin.

After completing a 23-mile trek, they had raised nearly £9,000 – despite setting an initial fundraising target of £1,000.

And it seems Rachel hasn’t been put off by that mammoth challenge, as she is set to do it all over again at this year’s Kiltwalk in Glasgow on April 29.

Rachel said: “Dad’s death was very traumatic as we were there at the time. As far as we all knew, he was very fit, healthy and well.

“It was only afterwards we found out he had coronary heart disease and that quite a few of his coronary arteries were blocked.

“We read more about heart disease on the BHF website and we had no idea how common it is.

“As I was trying to decide which event to enter, I could just hear my dad’s voice, telling me to go for the big one.

“What had happened to my dad was a total motivator to walk and to raise money.”

Rachel is hoping other people will take part in this year’s event, raising money for worthy causes.

She added: “Anybody can do Kiltwalk. If you feel you can’t do the big distance, there are smaller ones.

“We just wanted to do what we could to raise money for heart disease research in the hope that no-one else has to go through what we’ve gone through.”

To sign up, visit www.thekiltwalk.co.uk.