Blind veteran to take on 100km charity trek

Karl 'Charlie' Parkinson will walk 100km across the South Downs for Blind Veterans UK

A blind veteran who is set to walk 100km (62 miles) along the South Downs Way says he wants to do "whatever I possibly can" to give back to a charity which helped to support him.

Karl Parkinson, known as Charlie, said he was looking forward to completing the South Coast Ultra on 6 September in aid of Blind Veterans UK.

Mr Parkinson, 48, from Brighton, will set off from Eastbourne alongside a team from the charity, having previously trekked from London to Brighton twice to fundraise.

He said: "I'll be indebted to the charity for the rest of my life and will always do whatever I possibly can to give back but that still wouldn't be enough to pay back what they have done for me."

Mr Parkinson added: "I was infantry soldier, so I'm used to walking."

In 2010, Mr Parkinson began to lose his sight and was diagnosed with glaucoma, something he said pushed him to despair.

He added that support from the charity helped him to find his feet.

Mr Parkinson, alongside others taking on the South Coast Ultra for the charity, took part in a training week in Rustington in June ahead of the trek.

The South Coast Ultra begins in Eastbourne before heading to Birling Gap, across the South Downs through Southease, Brighton and Steyning, before finishing in Arundel.