Grateful husband Chris Ling will be striding out across England next month in aid of a kidney charity following his wife's successful organ transplant.

Christmas and New Year three years ago were a nightmare for the Ling family, from north-east Norfolk.

In late December 2009 Jo Ling, quite out of the blue, contracted a rare but devastating kidney disease and had to be rushed to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Within six to eight weeks both Mrs Ling's kidneys had been destroyed and she spent months travelling to the hospital three times a week to spend up to five hours a time on dialysis.

'It was all very difficult because we had a four-year-old daughter at home,' said Mr Ling, 43, who works as a claims director for an Ipswich insurance broker.

The punishing regime was eased slightly at Easter 2010 when Mrs Ling, 47, switched to a different form of dialysis which could be carried out at home.

She had been on the list for a kidney transplant for just three months when the couple had a late-night call from Addenbrooke's in November 2010 telling them that an organ was available and that they had two hours to get to the Cambridge hospital for a transplant.

'We dropped everything, found a babysitter, and rushed there,' Mr Ling recalled.

The operation has been a complete success and Mrs Ling has now returned to her job as a textiles tutor at Hethersett Old Hall School.

'She leads a busy, energetic and completely normal life again,' said Mr Ling.

He will be trekking the 192-mile Coast to Coast walk from July 7 to July 20 in aid of Kidney Research UK, hoping to raise �2,500 for the charity and awareness about the need for more people to register as organ donors.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Mr Ling can do so online at: www.kidneyresearchukevents.org/chrisling