Lighthouse fan raises £50,000 for Gurkhas

Jim Morton walked 9,000 miles for The Gurkha Welfare Trust in 2021 and 2022

A man who walked 9,000 miles while visiting lighthouses around Britain's coastline has hit his £50,000 fundraising target, which will fund three earthquake-proof homes in Nepal for Gurkha families.

Jim Morton, 64, served in the Royal Navy in the 1970s and 1980s and, inspired by the Gurkhas he met, he began raising money for The Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Mr Morton, from Barnsley, wrote a book about his 8,903-mile (14,328km) walk in October 2022 titled I May Be Gone a While.

He said: "Thursday was a very proud day for me because I sold the last of my 1,000 books and also, by coincidence, it just took me to my £50,000."

He added: "In 2016, some of the Gurkhas lost everything in an earthquake and we've had monsoons since.

"Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Anything we can do to help is fantastic."

Mr Morton, who is a lighthouse obsessive, spent 537 days walking around the UK visiting 243 lighthouses.

He now gives talks at Rotary clubs and Women's Institutes. Earlier this month, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow recognition – an international Rotary award.

In May this year, he began walking between the five D-Day landing beaches in the north of France. He completed the challenge on the 80th anniversary of the battle on 6 June.

He said: "The money will still come in even though I've hit my £50,000 target by doing talks and lectures too, but it's all about raising money for The Gurkha Welfare Trust.

"They are such humble people who have served Britain so well since 1814 in every war."

The Gurkha Welfare Trust was founded in 1969. It delivers financial and medical aid to war veterans in Nepal and works with communities to provide access to clean water and education.

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