Christian Nock raised more than £200,000 for Help for Heroes and inspired many others to volunteer to help charities.
A former soldier completed a mammoth 8,000-mile walk around the coast of Britain to raise £200,000 for charity on Saturday.
Christian Nock, 40, slept rough every night of his incredible journey which started at his local pub in Blackpool 18 months ago and ended at the resort’s South Pier yesterday morning.
Christian, who was in the Army for eight years, wanted to raise cash for Help for Heroes while highlighting the plight of veterans who become homeless and addicted to alcohol or drugs after leaving the Armed Forces.
During his incredible journey, which started on August 8, 2012, he survived blisters, sickness, colds, blizzards, freezing weather, torrential rain,
landslides and even slept in a cave with seals.
But he refused every offer of a bed or shelter for the night and he is believed to be the first person to walk continuously around the entire coast of Britain.
He said: “As an ex-infantryman myself, I have seen the difficulties soldiers face once returning to life as a civilian.
“Many struggle to reintegrate into normal family life, often due to a real lack of counselling and support.
“This can lead to further problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder and dependency on drink and drugs and thus divisions within families.
“Sadly, there are far too many ex-servicemen who end up living on the streets as a result.”
During the walk, Christian wore out 14 pairs of walking boots and is said to have inspired streams of people he met to start volunteering.
Bryn Parry, chief executive and co-founder of Help for Heroes said: “What Christian has achieved is nothing short of astonishing.
“Since Help for Heroes launched six years ago, the great British public has done many remarkable things, but Christian’s walk is unique.
“We have never heard of anyone contemplating this challenge, let alone completing it.
“Choosing to walk such a long distance over a sustained period of time while sleeping rough to raise awareness of homelessness has required huge personal sacrifices by Christian.
“As a result of these sacrifices, Christian has raised an incredible amount of money which will help us provide practical, direct support to servicemen, women and veterans who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses.”
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