A determined student has launched a fundraising campaign to club together enough cash to help her mum explore the great outdoors – something health problems haven’t allowed her to do since she moved to Cumbria.

Francesca Dearden, 22, witnessed her mum Deborah break down in tears when she tried out an off-road wheelchair during a demonstration at the Watchtree Nature Reserve.

Deborah, who lives just a couple of miles away from the reserve near Thursby, moved up to Cumbria from Manchester 30 years ago to enjoy the outdoors but soon developed a number of health problems.

The 61-year-old uses a wheelchair and her condition means she hasn’t been able to take in the county’s beautiful countryside in the way she’d wanted.

But there’s a hope that being able to join her family on treks through the Lake District might be a reality in future after falling in love with a hi-tech piece of kit.

Last month outdoor firm Molten Rock did a demonstration day at the nature reserve and brought along their Boma 7 Off Road All-Terrain Wheelchairs.

The electronically-powered machines allow people to explore the land in ways they can’t do normally, allowing their users to travel over land, hills, bumps and grassed areas that are usually off-limits.

Francesa, who studies animal behaviour at Manchester Metropolitan University, has spent the last year at Watchtree for her course placement.

She said: “Until I started my placement she didn’t really know about Watchtree.

“But now she comes down here about two or three times a week because we have a great dane called Jasper that needs walking.

“She manages to get a bit of fresh air and that’s the reason she moved up here – the environment and how nice it is in Cumbria.

“She likes Watchtree because of the wheelchair accessibility, she’s able to get out and about.

“As soon as I found out they were coming to do a demonstration I told her she’d have to come down.

“She absolutely loved it, she was able to do all kind of things I didn’t expect to do.

“She was racing over rocks and racing up and down the steep banks like she was 15. I’ve never seen her so happy.

“She didn’t think she was even going to be able to get on one of them but we were all completely surprised. It’s the perfect machine for her.

“There aren’t that many disabled access paths in the Lake District and it makes it so hard to get out as a family.

“She’s got used to saying: ‘I’ll stop here with the car and bags’. But when we found this existed we were over the moon.”

Ryan Dobson, Watchtree’s access and recreation officer, said: “The Boma 7 would get her up Latrigg or up to Dodd Summit, across her field to feed their Shetland pony and around country fairs – which she hasn’t been able to attend since her condition deteriorated.

“Deborah came expecting it to be uncomfortable, difficult to use and basically just not for her. That wasn’t the case.”

But the wheelchairs don’t come cheap. The model that Deborah tried out costs around £9,000 to buy.

However, Francesca is hoping that by pushing herself to complete a range of challenges she can help pay for one.

“I was talking with a bunch of my university friends and I just mentioned that it had been an amazing day and that I was able to see my mum racing up a hill for the first time.

“So they said let’s do something,” Francesca added.

The first of her challenges that have been arranged is the Manchester Half Marathon in October. She’s doing it with a group of her friends and brother Oliver, 31.

Anyone wanting to sponsor Francesca can do so by going to her fundraising page www.gofundme.com/2axe8gxr.