Elizabeth Fish

Residents living in the LN6 area of Lincoln will now be able to get free travel help from Access LN6 advisors.

A team of eight travel advisors will visit 10,000 houses in the Hykeham, Birchwood and Doddington Park area.

They can provide information about local public transport options, walking and cycling routes, and ways residents can reduce the impact car travel has on the local area.

Before knocking on doors, the team will send out a small postcard, allowing them to opt out of the advisors visiting if they want.

They are based in Acorn House at Lindum Business Park, so will walk or cycle to their target areas, using the bike hire scheme.

Councillor Stuart Kinch from Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Through Access LN6, we are encouraging people to try different modes of sustainable transport, but we understand that people need to make informed decisions.

“Our team of travel advisors are extremely knowledgeable and will provide households with information about sustainable transport options most suitable to them.

“We’re confident that providing this information will encourage more people in LN6 to think about the impact car travel has on the local area.”

Access LN6 travel advisor Alison Whitelam added: “Providing travel advice door-to-door has been very successful in other areas of the country, and we’re confident that it will have an impact in reducing single occupancy car journeys in LN6.

“Our team are very friendly and approachable, and you won’t miss us in bright green polo shirts! We’ll be at local community events too, so come and say hello – we look forward to meeting you!”

A local fundraiser who decided to run the Lincoln 10k in just his bare feet is now taking time to recover from the gruelling experience.

Chris Hall (31) from Lincoln, who works for East Midlands Ambulance Service within Patient Transport Service, entered the 10k on April 6 originally to try and run the race in under 40 minutes.

However, after deciding to run for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Chris chose to run the entire route barefoot, raising more than £500.

Chris’ injured feet after his barefoot charity run.

“I entered the 10k a few months ago and was aiming to run it normally with shoes in the quickest time possible,” Chris said.

“I really wanted to run for a charity but was put off by the idea, as I was a little worried having to ask, harass or beg people for donations, plus also the embarrassment or feeling of letting the charity down if I didn’t raise a lot.

“It was only the Monday before the 10k that I decided that I really wanted to do something for the charity and I had the idea of doing it bare footed.

“It was very much a last minute decision which meant I couldn’t prepare or train for running bare footed. I managed to run 2k on the Friday night before to just see how it felt, and made it back in one piece.”

Chris with bandaged feet after the Lincoln 10k.

Chris managed to run the Lincoln 10k in a time of 45 minutes and has so far raised £570 for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Chris’ dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2012, and has battled it since.

While he is pleased to have achieved such an interesting feat for charity, Chris is dealing with a large amount of pain in his feet due to large blood blisters.

He added: “There were certain parts of the route which were quite painful: the cobbles at the end were difficult to navigate, but other stretches of the route were relatively smooth and it was on these parts where I could pick my pace up.

“I was really pleased to finish in 45 minutes. Though it wasn’t until I stopped after the finish line that I realised the damage to my feet and the pain I was in!”

Chris has since been to the doctors and was advised his feet would remain blistered, sore and painful for up to two weeks, and recommended painkillers.

He concluded: “It has meant a lot to me to have have helped such a great cause and the amount raised so far has softened the pain!

“The support from my family and friends has been great, I have raised much more then I envisaged, and since the run I have had donations from people who saw me running or have since seen the pictures on social media.

“During the race I had runners commenting on how well I was doing and the support from the spectators was brilliant and really drove me on.

“I am certainly going to continue to fundraise in the future but haven’t decided what to do next. For now I will rest my feet until I decide!”

You can still donate to Chris’ cause on his Just Giving page.