LONDON (Reuters) – Captain Tom Moore, a 99-year-old British war veteran, has now raised more than 25 million pounds ($31.3 million) for the health service by walking 100 laps of his garden.
The World War Two veteran, who has used a walking frame with wheels since breaking his hip, set himself the target of walking the 25 meters around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday on April 30.
He completed his task on Thursday.
His original target was to raise 1,000 pounds, but that modest aim was blown away as media attention from around the globe zoomed in on his garden in Bedfordshire, central England.
Moore will be the guest of honor when a new “Nightingale” field hospital opens in Harrogate in northern England next week, which is being set up to help deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
“I am still amazed by the amount of kindness and generosity from the UK public who continue to give despite it being an uncertain time for many,” Moore said in a statement on Saturday.
($1 = 0.7995 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
