A woman is aiming to knit her way around the Flora London Marathon and into the record books on Sunday to raise funds for dementia research.

Susie Hewer, from Ewhurst Green, near Robertsbridge, will combine her love of running and needlework as she attempts to knit a scarf while pounding the streets.

The scarf will be auctioned off for the Alzheimer's Research Trust (ART) at a later date.

The 49-year-old's extreme knitting exploits have come to the attention of Simply Knitting magazine and some knitting circles, who will offer support by staging a "knit-out" along the 26-mile route.

The groups, who organise zany knitting stunts such as woollen weddings, will be joined by a representative from Guinness World Records, who will check on Susie's progress as she attempts to achieve the debut entry for "the longest scarf knitted while running a marathon".

Susie already has several marathons under her belt and has raised almost £6,000 for ART so far.

She hopes to raise a further £3,000 for the charity in 2007 with a year of long-distance runs and marathons to celebrate her 50th birthday in June.

ART is a cause close to Susie's heart because her mother, Peggy, died of vascular dementia the day after her 89th birthday in March 2005, following an eight-year battle with the disease.

Susie, who describes herself as an "extreme knitting redhead", said: "Mad woman, I hear you cry. That's as maybe, but having watched my poor dear mother taken away by dementia I cannot rest until I have raised more money for research into this dreadful disease."

Anyone wishing to support Susie can donate via http://www.justgiving.com/extremeredhead or through ART's donation hotline at 01223 843899.

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