'Walking for Wilksy' challenge in aid of stroke victim

Team Limitless set off from Clevedon Beach on Saturday morning and will finish at the same place on Sunday

A men's self-development club are completing a 24-hour walk in support of a member recovering from a stroke.

Father-of-two Matt Wilks suffered the stroke on 10 December, losing feeling in his left side.

Dave Watson, founder of Limitless in Clevedon, Somerset, said the group were "straight on" asking to help.

He added that it would be a tough 24 hours, but they just want to help raise as much money as possible for Mr Wilks and his family.

The family, from Devizes in Wiltshire, need £5,000 to get the home adaptions, rehabilitation and physiotherapy Mr Wilks needs.

His stroke, at the age of 45, came as a "huge shock" to the men's club, Mr Watson said.

He said that talk of a "little sponsored walk" quickly developed into "Walking for Wilksy" - a 24-hour walk in the freezing cold of January.

The club members were keen to help Matt Wilks in anyway they could

"We will be doing loops of Clevedon... there will be quick admin breaks every four hours to sort our feet out etc, but no sleep or rests of any sort," Mr Watson added.

"Every member of Limitless, including members from as far away as Brighton, will be heading for Clevedon to support Matt - it's a measure of just how much he means to the group".

Limitless helps men with areas such as mindset, physical and emotional improvement, mental health and goal-setting.

Group member James Brown added: "It's going to be a very hard 24 hours, lots of blisters, blister plasters are packed, snacks tucked away.

"We just hope there will be lots of people out to to cheer us and get us over the line."

Mr Wilks spent two weeks in hospital following the stroke, but thanks to staff at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, he was well enough to go home just in time to spend Christmas with his wife and two daughters.

Matt Wilks (far right) had previously joined members on hikes

As a keen cyclist, Mr Wilks said he was driven by the idea of getting back on his bike.

"The only thing that got me out of hospital and moving again was the desire to be at home and cycling in some way, experiencing the amazing countryside," he said.

But paralysis of his left side means a lengthy period of intensive rehabilitation and the installation of equipment to aid his recovery.