A Heckmondwike dietician survived an earth tremor and political demonstrations during a charity trek in Peru.

Catriona Gentleman, 32, of Grosvenor Street, was at the airport after completing the four-day Barnardo's hike, when the tremor shook the building.

"The whole building started shaking and there was a lot of noise. It lasted four or five seconds and was a very strange experience," she said.

Catriona joined the 45-strong group who followed the Inca Trail through narrow mountain passes and jungle. She trained by tackling the Three Peaks walk.

She was warned before setting off that recent elections in Peru could spark political demonstrations.

"They started after we had finished the trek and there were a lot of armed police around," said Catriona. "We were warned to stay well away if we saw any demonstrations, which we did near Machupic-chu.

"One day the police escorted us off our bus because there were demonstrators in the road. The bus behind us was caught up in it and fired at with tear gas."

Her dramatic experiences have not put Catriona off Peru. "It was just one huge experience and everything that happened to us just added to that," she said.

The group set off at an altitude of 10,000ft and climbed to 14,000 on the 30-mile walk.

"At altitude you have to take things very slowly," said Catriona. "One of the other groups who did this had people drop out because of the altitude problem, but we all got round."

Catriona, a dietician for nutritional support at Dewsbury District Hospital, raised £2,500 for Barnardo's from sponsorship, raffles and car boot sales. She was also given club merchandise from Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Bradford Bulls to auction.

It is thought the trekkers raised a total of £100,000.