Grandmother 'almost died' on coastal walk for charity

A GRANDMOTHER says she “almost died” in Carmarthenshire during a gruelling 730-mile, four-month long charity coastal walk, becoming trapped in a ditch in filthy water up to her neck for around an hour.

- JAMES ARNOTT

Janet Baldock tackled the entire Wales Coastal Path between April and August, missing out Anglesey but completing her 730th and final mile on her 68th birthday.

The grandmother-of-four’s trek was in aid of the national Support Dogs charity and her epic efforts didn’t go unnoticed as she was named Fundraiser of the Year during the charity's annual Graduation and Awards ceremony, held in Sheffield earlier this week.

As well as celebrating the record-breaking 23 life-changing assistance dog partnerships achieved on the charity's autism, epilepsy and disability programmes in 2025, the selfless volunteers who help make the charity’s work possible were also recognised.

During the glittering event, Wales-born Janet, of Shalbourne, Wiltshire, got to see firsthand the life-changing assistance dogs and the humans they help.