Westgate swimming teacher Paula Gunnell will be finding out exactly what it’s like to lose sight when she becomes blind for a day to raise money for specialist equipment at her son’s school.

Paula, from Cliff Field, is aiming to raise £2,500 to buy a Mountbatten Brailler, the blind person’s answer to pen and paper, for Reculver primary school where her eight-year-old son Daniel is a pupil. He was born premature and is blind with only light perception.

Paula’s 12 hours of darkness will be on Saturday November 8 when she has lined up a series of events to help bring in cash. Assisted by her guide Christine Hewitt, Paula will be bowling at Bugsy’s in Cliftonville before going on to Hartsdown swimming pool, where Paula will be blindfold in the water. Later on, Paula travels to Dartford for a town trail walk, a meal in a restaurant rounded off with a show at the Orchard Theatre - all in blindness.

Paula said: “This is the fourth sponsored event I’ve done and each time I have taken on different activities for my own experience to enable me to build further understanding of my son’s blindness.

“So far, I’ve raised around £1,300 and I want to double that.”

Some of that cash has been made from lifeguards at Hartsdown pool shaving their hair off and support from Margate’s National School Uniform shop.