Coronavirus: Army veteran's 100th-birthday walk for 'magnificent' NHS

Tom Moore is aiming to walk 100 laps of 25m around his garden

A 99-year-old army veteran has joined the fundraising fight against Covid-19 with a 100-lap garden challenge.

Walking with the aid of a frame, Tom Moore aims to complete the 2.5km (1.6 miles) distance at his Bedfordshire home by his 100th birthday on 30 April.

He has raised £2,000 for NHS Charities Together, having recently been treated for a broken hip and skin cancer.

"It's all for the sake of the nurses and the NHS we have because they are doing such a magnificent job," he said.

"I shall certainly do the 100 [laps] before my birthday but I'm planning to do more."

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Mr Moore has already completed 20 laps of the 25-metre (82ft) loop, and is taking them on in 10-lap chunks.

His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said a party of 100 guests to mark Mr Moore's birthday had had to be cancelled because of coronavirus restrictions.

She described her father, who lives with her family in Marston Moretaine, as "an incredible man" and "a constant inspiration".

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Mr Moore was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, and trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the army for World War Two, rising to Captain and serving in India and Burma.

After the war he became an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset. He lived in Kent for many years before moving to Bedfordshire to be with his family in 2007.

Mr Moore was inspired to help the health service after receiving treatment for skin cancer of the head, and a broken hip after a fall in 2018.

The NHS Charities Together appeal supports the health service's official charities, and gives £1m a day to the NHS.