IF you go down to Bude Canal on Saturday (April 27), you may well spot a rare sight.

Jackie Diffey, from Bude, sets off at 10.30am (weather permitting) and will be paddling a surf ski up and down the canal until she covers a 20km distance. She is taking on the challenge in aid of Bude Animal Free Research UK.

Jackie said: “My Mum had type 2 diabetes and complications that often go with it. I’m doing this in her memory on what would have been her 83rd birthday to raise much needed funds to support some exciting research taking place at the University of Exeter.”

Jackie and other members of the Bude Animal Free Research UK support group, visited Professor Lorna Harries at her lab in Exeter last month. Professor Harries explained that they use human-relevant methods for ethical reasons, but also because their research findings are immediately relevant and applicable to humans, leading to effective human treatments.

Animal Free Research UK explained: “This is cutting-edge research at its best — these exciting discoveries would never have been made if they had carried out experiments on mice as the mouse pancreas, and how the cells within it communicate, is configured differently to ours.”

Research findings, described as ground-breaking, are yet to be published but in the meantime the Bude group push ahead with a year long schedule of events to raise funds for this research.

Steph Jones-Giles, community ambassador for the charity, said: “The distance Jackie is undertaking in this challenge is very ambitious and we would love as many people as possible to come down to the wharf to cheer her on. Look out for our stall where we will have information and a fabulous raffle to boost funds.”