Marking a 40th birthday is, for many, an excuse for a party and a big celebration.

But one Beccles woman is using the milestone birthday as an opportunity to take on 40 different challenges set by family and friends to raise money for Diabetes UK.

Caroline Carvosso, an orthopaedic secretary at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was five years old.

Diabetes UK has played a central part in her life and she met her husband Mark, who also lives with the condition, at a youth weekend organised by the charity in 1998.

She said: “When I was diagnosed more than three decades ago it was very traumatic and you had to inject with huge glass syringes which had to be sterilized in surgical spirit.

“I was in and out of hospital for weeks at a time in the early days.

“Research has really advanced treatment for the condition but it is still something that you have to think of every day.

“I would love to see a day when research finds a cure for the condition.”

Mrs Carvosso began her year of challenges on January 1 and will finish with a party on New Year’s Eve.

Her challenges include refraining from chocolate and cake for one month, climbing Roseberry Topping in Yorkshire, and going on a VW camper van road trip.

One she has already completed is the Diabetes UK Swim 22 event – a three-month challenge to swim the equivalent distance of the English Channel – 22 miles.

This event alone has raised more than £1,200 for the charity.

Mrs Carvosso, who is a Brownie and Senior Section Leader in Beccles, has also designed a special challenge badge as part of her activities.

Diabetes is a condition where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly.

In the UK, there are around 3.8 million people who have the condition made up of 3.2 million people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and around 630,000 more who have Type 2 diabetes but don’t know they have it because they have not been diagnosed.

As many as 11.5 million people are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and if current trends continue, an estimated five million people will have diabetes by 2025.

If not managed well, both types can lead to complications - it is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age in the UK and is a major cause of lower limb amputation, kidney failure and stroke.

Teresa Strange, Diabetes UK eastern regional fundraiser, said: “We are delighted that Caroline has chosen to combine the celebrations for her 40th birthday with raising vital funds which will help Diabetes UK continue it work to care, campaign and connect with everyone affected by the condition.

“No one knows what causes Type 1 diabetes and it is not to do with diet or lifestyle.

“It is usually diagnosed in children or young adults and starts suddenly. Currently there is no cure but money raised by people like Caroline can help research into finding a cure.”

To sponsor Mrs Carvasso and follow her progress through her year of fundraising visit www.justgiving.com/caroline-carvosso