A FORMER Royal Navy chief petty officer, who has started his retirement by raising thousands of pounds for the Armed Forces charity Help for Heroes, is passing through the region.

Dressed in an English Civil War pikeman’s uniform, Malcolm Cray stopped off in Teesdale on Friday on his tenweek walk from John O’Groats to Lands End.

He rejoined his route in Barnard Castle yesterday after resting with friends in Northallerton on Saturday and expects to be passing through Keld and Hawes, in the Yorkshire Dales, today heading for Hebden Brige, West Yorkshire.

The 40-year-old reenactment fan has already collected more than £8,700 along the way and expects to exceed his original £10,000 target when he finishes at the end of July.

He said: “I joined the Navy at 16 and was lucky enough never to have had any injuries.

“The first thing I wanted to do before getting a job was to help those who have been injured. Help for Heroes is a very worthwhile cause.

“Barnard Castle was about half way, which was a great psychological boost.”

Follow his progress at justgiving.com/pikeman or thecharitypikeman.blogspot.com