Extreme Hartlepool adventurer Paul Suggitt who crossed the country barefoot tells his story

Fundraiser Paul Suggitt, from Deer Park, successfully walked 192 miles across the country barefoot in just 14 days in June.

It was the toughest challenge the dad of two had ever attempted and pushed him to the limits physically and mentally.

On just the second day, he had to be rescued after almost plunging 100ft off a mountain path.

But Paul, 50, says failure was never an option and the walk raised over £10,000 for North East children’s cancer charity The Chris Lucas Trust and Hartlepool Ambulance Charity.

His story is told in Paul’s new book To Hell and Back, Barefoot, which comes out on December 10.

He said: “When I was 16 my dad said I would never amount to anything because I didn’t want to work at ICI like him.

“We laugh about it now and it was the best thing he ever did for me because it gave me the biggest kick up the backside to go off in the world and not be a failure.”

In 2017, Paul, a website and app developer, walked, ran and cycled 10,000 miles, again for charity.

He added: “In my life I need extreme to push me beyond my comfort zone and even beyond the zone that most human beings would have given up, and barefoot adventuring seemed to be the perfect fit I was looking for.

“This was the toughest event I have ever undertaken in my life, however, from the outset of this extreme challenge I had an unfaltering belief in myself that I would complete it no matter what.

“I had the belief, had the end goal, and I just dealt with the daily in between challenging bits that happened.

“By the end of the adventure challenge, I really thought I had been to hell and back, barefoot.”

Discovery Channel extreme adventurer and world record holder Sean Conway has written the book’s foreword.

To Hell and Back Barefoot is available for pre-order from all Waterstones stores, online via Waterstones’ website, and direct from the publishers. It is also coming to Amazon and Kindle.