Group of women take part in BBC programme to get fit and raise money for four charities

The 'Newport Nifties' is a group of five women aged between 35 and 40 from the Duffryn and Marshfield area who are all neighbours.

When Gillian Lewis' father died following a battle with cancer, the group decided to get fit and joined their local parkrun group at Tredegar Park, and then went on to take part in the Newport Colour Dash.

Mrs Lewis said: “When my father passed away from cancer I felt lucky to be alive and feel like I should do something like get fit.

“One of my neighbours said we should join the local park run at Tredegar Park. Then we did the couch to 5k and after that we saw advertisements for groups to take part in the Gareth Thomas: Alfie’s Angels programme on BBC One.”

The group applied for a place on the show and were one of the winning teams, chosen out of a hat.

They were then given the name Newport Nifties and began to train with 95 other women taking part in the programme and training for the Cardiff Half Marathon this Sunday.

The group have been fundraising for the half marathon and are aiming to raise £100 to £300 each for four different charities.

Mrs Lewis has already raised £300 for a charity that supports children and adults affected by a lower limb condition called Steps, while her other friends are raising money for Cancer Research UK, Noah's Ark children's hospital and CLIC, a charity for children with cancer and leukaemia.

“It’s been so much fun to train with the other groups during the programme," she said. “We were given 12 weeks training and had support from Gareth, a personal trainer and we also had a nutritionist. We have had so much support, it’s been brilliant.”

To donate to the women and the charities they are raising money for, visit their pages: justgiving.com/fundraising/Gillian-Lewis10?, justgiving.com/Siobhan-Barras3?utm_id=27, justgiving.com/fundraising/Joanne-Healan1 and justgiving.com/Heidi-Mehta?utm_id=24