An ex-soldier from Torpoint is taking on a 100K walk for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

Nigel Evans, 47, successfully completed the Blind Veterans UK 100k London to Brighton challenge in 21.5 hours last year. This time he has encouraged friends to sign up and they will tackle the 100k together.

Nigel said: 'It's such a fantastic event. Last year everyone was incredibly involved on the Facebook page and it kept going into this year. It inspired me to participate in the Blind Veterans UK 100k challenge again, especially as the charity is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year."

Inspiration

Nigel served in the Army from 1986 until 1991. He was a Corporal and was part of the First Batallion Light Infantry. He served in the UK, Northern Ireland, British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and in Berlin when the Berlin Wall came down. After he left the Army he served for six years in the Army Reserve.

He said: 'I've got quite a few ex-Army friends suffering from disabilities they sustained over the years, some of whom are suffering from sight loss. It's why I want to fundraise for a military charity and Blind Veterans UK is a great cause.'

Nigel met some of the blind veterans the charity supports last year during and at the finish line of challenge.

He said: 'These men and women are inspirational. A few of them participated in the walk and if they can do it so can everyone else.

'The 100k is an amazing experience and I made and sustained friends who participated in the walk. It's wonderful to have people who come from a range of experiences coming together to do one thing – support Blind Veterans UK.'

The event is Blind Veterans UK's biggest annual fundraiser and takes walkers from a starting point in south London, along the banks of the Thames, through countryside paths in Surrey, Sussex and the North and South Downs to the charity's centre in Ovingdean, Brighton.

Nigel says: 'This walk will be challenging but I know the challenges that vision-impaired ex-Service men and women Blind Veterans UK supports face every day.' 

To find out more about Blind Veterans UK's 100k challenge, and to sign up for the event, visit http://www.blindveterans.org.uk/100k">www.blindveterans.org.uk/100k.

To sponsor Nigel visit http://www.just">www.just giving.com/

NigelEvansfund

raising.