Tony Hudgell: Amputee schoolboy raises £500,000 for hospital

  • Published
Tony Hudgell
Image caption,

Tony was inspired to take on the 10km challenge after watching Captain Tom Moore

A five-year-old double amputee who set out to raise £500 by walking every day in June has reached the £500,000 mark.

Tony Hudgell, from Kings Hill in Kent, had to have both legs amputated after abuse from his birth parents as a baby.

His challenge in aid of the Evelina London Children's Hospital, which saved his life, was inspired by Captain Tom Moore.

Tony's adoptive mother Paula Hudgell said: "We're just so grateful we've been able to give something back."

He was treated at the hospital in London when he was just a few weeks old and since having prosthetic legs fitted last year, his new family said he was thriving.

He is aiming to walk at least a third of a kilometre every day this month to reach his 10km challenge.

Mrs Hudgell said it started off as "more of a challenge to make him walk every day and to make us do it with him every day because life's so hectic at times... it's so easy not to do those important things".

The total amount raised is through Tony's JustGiving page, along with other donations and gift aid.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Tony Hudgell BEAR @bearsjourney

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Tony Hudgell BEAR @bearsjourney

Mrs Hudgell said it would make "a huge difference".

"This hospital deals with incredibly sick children, and we're so lucky that it's Tony's second home," she said.

"It's the hospital that's going to look after him until he's 18.

"He needs ongoing operations as he gets older, so we know that Tony will benefit from this as well as thousands of other children."

She added: "So many people have come out to support him and cheer him on. We can't thank everybody enough."

Captain Tom raised more than £32m for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday in April.

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.