A SCIENTIST fought through 30 hours of pain and exhaustion to conquer a 100km trek in aid of Alzheimer's Research UK.

Dr Francesca Nicholls, who works at the charity's Drug Discovery Institute at Oxford University, was one of dozens to take part in the annual Race the Tide event.

The 31-year-old panted from the Scottish Borders to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast, raising £1,500 for pioneering research on the way.

She said: "It was a lot tougher than any of us had anticipated. I had thought walking through the night would be the worst part, but it was the last few kilometres that were the hardest as the further we walked the more we struggled with the pain and blisters. By the end, many of us were using our trekking poles almost as crutches.

"But it was a really good atmosphere and we helped to keep each other’s spirits up.

"My friends at home took it in shifts through the night to send me funny messages on Facebook to keep me going, which really helped."

As part of the challenge participants aimed to get to the finishing point before it was cut off by the incoming tide, walking right through the night to reach the finish line.

Dr Nicholls signed up after seeing first-hand the work supported by Alzheimer's Research UK. The Drug Discovery Institute opened last year and Dr Nicholls and her team are looking at how stem cells could be turned into working nerve cells, which could potentially help to stave off degenerative disorders affecting the brain.

She said: "I’m delighted to have raised so much. People have been really generous and I’m sure that’s because so many people are affected by dementia.

"A lot of people I walked with had first-hand experience of dementia, and being able to learn more about the impact of the condition on their families really brought home to me the end goal of the research we’re doing."

More than 8,000 people in Oxfordshire and 850,000 across the UK are living with dementia today.

Jade Rolph, corporate partnerships manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: "We couldn’t be more grateful to Francesca for taking on this immense challenge.

"The need for research to defeat the condition has never been more urgent.

"Scientists like Francesca are leading the way in the search for new treatments, but we rely on the public to be able to fund this work."

Donations are still encouraged. To add to Dr Nicholls's fundraising total visit justgiving.com/fundraising/FrancescaJNicholls