Wiltshire woman wears different hat every day for charity

Hilary Fleming began fundraising for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance in 2021

The wife of a man who suffered serious injuries after twice falling from height has raised £3,000 for charity by wearing a different hat every day for three years.

Hilary Fleming, a retired NHS podiatrist from Swindon, said the Wiltshire Air Ambulance helped her husband, Shaun, following both falls.

Ms Fleming will don her 1,095th hat later, which she wears while exercising.

"I'm addicted now," she said.

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance said Ms Fleming has "effectively paid for an entire lifesaving mission on her own"

Ms Fleming came home from work one day in 2013 to her neighbour saying her husband had a fall from a ladder.

"He'd broken his neck and his back. The air ambulance came and held him until he was stabilised," she said.

Mr Fleming was flown by air ambulance to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and he had to undergo an eight-hour operation at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

"A year later he decided to chop down some trees in the garden. He fell off the [shed] roof and that time broke both his shoulder blades, his hip and his skull," Ms Fleming said.

Again the air ambulance was called to help.

"I wanted to see how long I could go wearing a different hat each time," Ms Fleming said

Mr Fleming made a full recovery following both incidents and has run two marathons, also raising money for the air ambulance charity.

Ms Fleming said her own fundraising idea came about when she decided to go walking every day during lockdown in 2021.

To motivate herself, she wore a different hat every day for the year.

"I wanted to see how long I could go wearing a different hat each time," Ms Fleming said.

"Walking is quite boring sometimes, so [in 2022] I came up with 'hat-ercise' [exercising in a hat].

"We all need a laugh, and so far my antics have only been greeted with smiles."

Ms Fleming has taken part in a range of exercises, in a range of locations, while wearing hats

Ms Fleming has been undertaking 30 minutes of exercise each day, showcasing a different style hat.

She has taken part in bodyboarding, cycles, swims and yoga in a range of locations around the UK and in Canada.

She gives away a lot of the hats she wore to charity, but over the years said she has collected six large boxes of them at home.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Air Ambulance said: "The fundraising Hilary has undertaken for our charity in the last three years has been so inspiring.

"Borne out of an idea to get moving during the pandemic, Hilary has gone on to raise over £3,200 and, when you factor in her many hours volunteering for our charity too, she has effectively paid for an entire lifesaving mission on her own."