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Coronavirus: Captain Tom Moore's NHS fundraiser reaches £12m | Coronavirus: Captain Tom Moore's NHS fundraiser reaches £12m |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A 99-year-old war veteran who is walking 100 laps of his garden before he turns 100 has raised more than £12m for the NHS. | |
Tom Moore originally wanted to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by completing laps of his garden. | Tom Moore originally wanted to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by completing laps of his garden. |
But he has now hit 12,000 times his initial target thanks to donations from more than 600,000 people online. | |
As he set off on his final 10 laps earlier, he said it was "an absolutely fantastic sum of money". | |
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told BBC Breakfast Mr Moore was "an inspiration to us all". | |
"This is an awful crisis but there are some little shafts of light," he said. | |
Mr Moore began raising funds to thank the "magnificent" NHS staff who helped him with treatment for cancer and a broken hip. | 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 complete 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 on Wednesday. | |
NHS Charities Together, which support health service charities and will benefit from the funds, said it was "truly inspired and humbled". | NHS Charities Together, which support health service charities and will benefit from the funds, said it was "truly inspired and humbled". |
More than 600,000 people from around the world have donated money to his fundraising page since it was set up last week. | More than 600,000 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 Myanmar, also known as Burma. | |
When the fund hit £5m, Mr Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore told the BBC the amount raised was "beyond our wildest expectations". | |
By about 07:10 BST, the total raised had risen to more than £12,000,000. | By about 07:10 BST, the total raised had risen to more than £12,000,000. |
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk | Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk |