Man crosses 1,038-mile finish line on charity walk

After walking more than 1,000 miles a Wiltshire man has finished a charity challenge on the very helipad he raised money for.

Drew Hornsey, 55, from Trowbridge, has spent the past year walking the length of Lands End to John O'Groats.

By his own admission he took "a slightly twisty route", and finished on Friday at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance base in Semington, Wiltshire.

His efforts have so far raised almost £1,000 for the air ambulance service.

The idea of taking on the challenge came to him after he started using an exercise tracking app alongside his partner, and decided he needed a challenge for motivation.

He said: "I got the app and thought 'go big or go home'. So Lands End to John O' Groats, that's fine.'"

But it was not until his partner took part in a haircut for charity that Mr Hornsey thought of taking on the challenge for a cause.

"The Wiltshire Air Ambulance has always been something I've supported and has been close to my heart, so I decided to do something good for them as well as doing something good for myself," he told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

Spread over the course of 360 days, not all of the walks were marathon efforts - but every step counted.

"The longest day I did was from Trowbridge to Bath along the canal," he said.

"That was 14 miles in just under four hours, so that's where I'd make up for the days I only did half a mile - walk down to the shop and back - but each day there was some form of walking."

And while some people might have stocked up on specialist equipment for 1,038 miles, Mr Hornsby relied on shoes he could depend on.

His "ratty old trainers are now in need of the bin", he joked.

"But they've served me well all this way."

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