Adventurous grandfather, 77, completes Hartlepool to Whitby walk to improve nursing care

Brian Footitt, aged 77 and who worked in the health service for 50 years, walked The Way of St Hilda from St Hilda’s Church, in Hartlepool, to Whitby Abbey in just three days.

He overcame the elements and his age to raise £3,000 for the Florence Nightingale Foundation which provides scholarships for nurses to further their career.

Brian, from Elwick, who is about to become a great-grandfather, said: “Ever since I reached 70 I felt I had to do something to prove to myself I wasn’t over the hill.

"Each year I do do something different. Last year my son and I did the longest zip wire in Europe in Wales.”

This year, he chose to support the Florence Nightingale Foundation because of his background in health and he previously benefited from one of their scholarships to study in America.

Brian, who was associate director of nursing at Middlesbrough’s James Cook Hospital, added: “I can appreciate the struggles my colleagues are going through at the moment.”

With him every step of the way was friend Blair Kestor whom he met on a pilgrimage walk in Spain in 2018.

Brian, who underwent open heart surgery 10 years ago, was also joined part of the way by his son Gareth, 42, and friend Mahmoud Nyelenkeh, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone, in West Africa.

He said: “It was tough but certainly enjoyable.

"I didn’t mind the rain but the wind was challenging. But you just put your head down and gritted your teeth.

"The success is in trying. In a little way I feel I have made a difference.

"I set a target of reaching £3,000 and we reached that which is great.”

It will meet the cost of funding one nursing research scholarship to enable someone to improve clinical outcomes, patient experience and the nation's health.

In the past Brian, who volunteers at LilyAnne’s coffee shop in Victoria Road, Hartlepool, has raised money for charities including Teesside Hospice, where he was previously chairman.

People can still donate to the Florence Nightingale Foundation through his page Walking for Florence at gofundme.com

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