LOCAL East Lothian ladies Margo Appleby and Meg Maitland are going to great lengths to raise funds for Leuchie House Short Break Care in North Berwick on Saturday 3 September 2011.

They hope to raise around £2,000 of much needed funds for the charity’s work in providing a lifeline of support for individuals and their families who live with the devastating effects of long term complex conditions such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease and spinal injuries. They will be braving icy waters, jellyfish, seals and gannet attacks to swim over 3 MILES in open water from the iconic Bass Rock to North Berwick.

Margo, who works out of Essence of Beauty in North Berwick, and Meg, owner of Meg Maitland Boutiques, said: "We’ve been training hard for the swim, and hope to enjoy it! We decided to support Leuchie because it’s such an important place for the 1,000s of families it helps, and is also an essential part of the local community".

Mairi O’Keefe, Chief Executive of Leuchie House, said: "We’re honoured and amazed that Margo and Meg have decided to support us in this way – and we’ll be sending them warm thoughts all the way! This is another example of the incredible support that the local community have shown for Leuchie, and we can’t thank them enough".

Around 400,000 people in the UK will be affected by one of the complex conditions supported by Leuchie at some stage in their lives. Leuchie can support those individuals by providing an unusually high quality of specialised care for those with complex nursing needs within a stimulating and caring environment for guests and their families, successfully encouraging independence and relaxation.

To support Margot and Meg visit their JustGiving site at http://www.justgiving.com/megandmargo

or text "BRNB11 £AMOUNT" to 70070.