Nigel Elias, 45, of Loves Farm, walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall, from Walls End near Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Bowness on Solway, in Cumbria.

A FATHER from St Neots has raised almost �5,000 for a leading children’s charity.

Nigel Elias, 45, of Loves Farm, walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall, from Walls End near Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Bowness on Solway, in Cumbria.

He raised an impressive �4,940 in sponsorship (including Gift Aid), which he has donated to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). The charity provides care and support to children with life-threatening conditions. Services includes short break care, specialist play activities, music therapy, hydrotherapy, parent groups, sibling groups, care at end of life and bereavement support for family members.

Nigel, who is married to Karen, has two sons, Rhys, 18, and Sam, 15, and is a long-standing supporter of EACH.

He started his 85.5 mile journey on April 18, reaching his final destination five days later at the end of the historic Roman wall.

He said: “I wanted to do something a bit different. You often read about people doing the Three Peaks Challenge or sponsored bike rides. I came up with the idea in October and started training straight away, walking from St Neots to Cambridge, and to Huntingdon and Kimbolton.

“It was a fantastic experience, through some wonderful countryside. A couple of the days were quite challenging though, with the terrain fairly hilly in places.

“With the help and support of my friends and family, I managed to raise �4,170 and with the gift aid supplement this amounted to a grand total of �4,940 for EACH. This is an absolutely fantastic amount and significantly more than my initial expectations.

“I have great memories of my walk and feel a real sense of achievement to be able to support and make a difference in caring for and giving support to life-threatened children. EACH is an excellent charity and, unlike some of the bigger, national charities, you know that the money is going to be put to good use, helping local people.”

Last year, Nigel climbed mountains in his bid to raise much-needed funds for the charity and is already planning his next big event – walking the West Highland Way in Scotland.

Denise Norris-Fenn, EACH fundraising manager, said: “We can’t thank Nigel enough for his dedication, which has raised thousands of pounds for EACH.

“We need to raise �4 million in donations to deliver our services this year. This amounts to �11,000 a day, every day of the year, and we rely upon individuals like Nigel to allow us to deliver vital care and support to life-threatened children and their families.”

CONTACT: For more information about EACH call 01223 205180 or 01953 715559.