TREKKERS raising money for Acorns Children's Hospice Trust have had to change course due to the fears surrounding the killer virus Sars.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has spread rapidly in China where 40 fund-raisers were due to walk in May.

The Three Gorges Trek would have been the last chance for trekkers to walk through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River before the new Three Gorges Dam is completed and the valley is flooded.

Acorns has now switched the trek to jungle in Borneo, famed for being an SAS training ground.

Trekkers Elizabeth and Steve Hunt had already had to change onward travel plans to Hong Kong because of the virus, and on Tuesday, they decided they would not risk participating in the trek.

"I didn't believe half of what is coming out of China, every day the story gets worse," said Mrs Hunt, of Battenhall, Worcester.

"Every day the story gets worse. The trip would expose ourselves to Sars and there would have been effects when we got back.

"We've got two children and we run a business. It's the implications of that that made us decide not to go.

"We were relieved when we heard it was being changed as I've been checking the internet everyday to see what's going on.

"We know we can do the Great Wall of China next year, but this will never happen again. It's very unfortunate but you haven't got any control over it."

Acorns - which is looking to raise £4m to build a new hospice in Worcester - said it had been following the travel advice for some weeks.

"We felt in light of most recent information, the most responsible thing was to cancel the trip as the starting point was Beijing," said Cheryl Lee, spokeswoman for Acorns.