FOLLOWING in the family footsteps is Elena Venier, who has passed out as a firefighter.

It was a very proud day for Elena's family, especially for retired firefighter Lee Venier - Elena's dad.

Lee served nine years in the army, followed by 26 years as a firefighter on the Isle of Wight, but one of his proudest moments was at Elena's passing out parade.

Elena's mum Katrina has also served the community in her career, serving as a nurse at St Mary's Hospital for around 23 years.

Elena recently completed 18 challenging weeks at Eastleigh and is now a whole time firefighter, on Blue Watch at Newport Fire Station.

Grandmother Carol Venier said: "The family and grandparents are so proud."

Elena was part of the next generation of Hampshire and Isle of Wight firefighters who took a weekend off from their training to take on a mountainous challenge.

Along with fellow students, she climbed ladders at the ASDA Supercentre in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, to reach 8,848m, equivalent to the size of Mount Everest, to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity.