Carers walk 150 miles for armed forces charity

A local care team has completed a 150-mile weighted walking challenge in aid of Help for Heroes, finishing the final mile at King George V Park in Melksham.

The team of seven from Steps Ahead Care and Support completed the challenge throughout July, wearing between 5kg and 20kg of weight to reflect the physical demands placed on military personnel.

They took on the fundraiser to support Help for Heroes, a charity that has been helping their client, Melksham military veteran Simon Cooper, who sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident six years ago.

The team walked five miles every day, including during temperatures of more than 30°C, and raised £1,800 for the charity.

One of the care team, Chantelle, said, “Help for Heroes have done a lot for Simon following his injury. They have been supporting him for the whole six years since his accident. He is not able to use his arms or legs or anything, he can only really do voice activation stuff.

“Throughout the challenge, I just really wanted to highlight that we are all busy in life and we don’t always realise that it only takes two hours of our day to walk five miles. We just wanted to highlight the amazing work that the charity does. Even just raising £20 covers some sort of support that the families can receive.”

The team completed the final mile of the challenge at King George V Park on 31st July, with Simon joining them in his wheelchair.

Pictured: Chantelle Holmes, Kimberley Pyle, Simon Cooper, Leanne Cooper, Sarah James and Marley Tinson