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Hannah Ingram-Moore
The health secretary said Captain Tom Moore was “an inspiration to us all”
A 99-year-old war veteran who is walking 100 laps of his garden before he turns 100 has raised more than £10m for the NHS.
Tom Moore originally wanted to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by completing laps of his garden.
But he has now topped 10,000 times his initial target thanks to donations from nearly 500,000 people online.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier thanked Mr Moore for his efforts and said he was “an inspiration to us all”.
Mr Moore began raising funds to thank the “magnificent” NHS staff who helped him with treatment for cancer and a broken hip.
With the aid of a walking frame, he aimed to walk 100 laps of the 25-metre (82ft) loop in his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, in 10-lap chunks, before his 100th birthday.
“Every penny that we get, they (the NHS) deserve every one of it,” he said, as the total exceeded the £5m mark earlier.
NHS Charities Together, which support health service charities and will benefit from the funds, said it was “truly inspired and humbled”.
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@captaintommoore
Captain Tom Moore served in India and Burma during World War Two
More than 490,000 people from around the world have donated money to his fundraising page since it was set up last week.
Mr Moore, who is originally from Keighley in West Yorkshire, trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Army for World War Two, rising to captain and serving in India and Burma.
When the fund hit £5m earlier Mr Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore told the BBC earlier the amount raised was “beyond our wildest expectations”.
At the government’s daily press conference the health secretary said: “Captain Tom, you’re an inspiration to us all, and we thank you.”
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