A RETIRED chimney sweep has raised almost £5,000 by travelling the perimeter of England using his senior citizen’s bus pass.

Bob Waite, 66, from Blackhall in Hartlepool, travelled around the country’s coastline every day for three weeks and three days, using 127 buses.

He raised £4,700 money for the transplant unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle by being sponsored by friends, family and people he encountered him along the route.

Mr Waite, dubbed Bus Pass Bob, said: “I saw a gentleman on the news last year who had successfully received a kidney transplant and was cycling the coast-to-coast route to say ‘thank you’.

“I thought if he can do that I must be able to do something too. I can’t ride a bike anymore and I’m not very good at walking but I can sit on a bus all day, every day, for a month.”

The father-of-two left his home in Blackhall on February 27 on an Arriva number 23 bus, and spent a total of 23 nights away from his friends and family.

Every day his wife, Denise, would call to find out where he was going to end up that evening and would then arrange some accommodation for him in a local bed and breakfast, which was paid for by a family friend who wanted to support the journey.

Mrs Waite said: “It’s the longest he’s ever been away from us. It was very difficult for us all, but we just had to remember what he was doing it for.”

Mr Waite has previously taken part in two other sponsored bus journeys using his pass.

In 2014, he travelled from Land’s End to Berwick-upon-Tweed to raise money for a little boy with severe epilepsy.

Two years earlier, he made his way from Folkestone in Kent all the way back home to raise funds for repairs to the bell at St Andrew’s Church in Blackhall.

Professor Derek Manas, director of the Freeman’s Institute of Transplantation, said: “Having seen Bob’s complicated handwritten bus timetable for the duration of his route and listened to the many ups and downs he encountered during his three weeks away from home, it’s clear that this was not just a holiday bus tour but almost a feat of endurance which involved meticulous planning and dedication.”