Captain Tom Yorkshire statue nears £28,000 fundraising target

Andrian Melka has been working on the clay model since Captain Sir Tom Moore died in February

A £28,000 crowdfunding campaign to create a bronze statue of Captain Sir Tom Moore has nearly met its target.

North Yorkshire sculptor Andrian Melka has been working on a 6ft 6in (2m) clay model of the NHS fundraiser since his death in February.

Mr Melka said he hoped the finished work would be located in the garden of a Leeds hospital as an inspiration to patients and staff.

More than £25,000 has been donated so far to cover the cost of casting.

The statue portrays the Keighley-born fundraiser giving the thumbs-up as he completed 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire ahead of his 100th birthday last year.

Mr Melka, of Bolton Percy, who has donated his time for free to create the artwork, said raising enough money to finish the sculpture was "my personal challenge to honour a remarkable man".

"I was really inspired by Captain Tom, not only for raising so much money for the NHS but also in encouraging others to put one foot in front of the other and remain optimistic during challenging times," he said.

The statue captures the moment Captain Sir Tom completed 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire

If the funding target is met, it will be installed in a newly-refurbished courtyard garden at Leeds Chapel Allerton Hospital for patients undergoing lengthy and intensive rehabilitation for long-term neurological conditions or following a stroke or traumatic brain injury.

The seat on Sir Tom's walking frame has been designed so that it faces forwards, allowing it to be used as a place for people to sit and rest.

Esther Wakeman, chief executive of the Leeds Hospitals Charity, said she was "delighted" to be receiving the statue.

"Captain Sir Tom Moore was such an inspiration to so many people and, as a proud Yorkshireman, we hope he'd be pleased at having such a fitting tribute to him here in Leeds," she said.

Captain Sir Tom Moore raised almost £33m for the NHS

Captain Sir Tom raised almost £33m for NHS charities. He died on 2 February with Covid-19.

This weekend people across the country are expected to take part in the Captain Tom 100 challenge to celebrate what would have been the World War Two veteran's 101st birthday.