A FORMER soldier on a mission to raise more than £100,000 for Help for Heroes has completed another gruelling ‘gallop’, finishing in Tidworth.

Over the past eight years Phil Bartlett has been taking on challenges to help the charity close to his heart, and last month he was given a heroes welcome at Tedworth House on completion of his latest feat.

Veteran Phil ran 150 miles in11 days between the Help for Heroes Recovery Centres in Plymouth and Tidworth, concluding on May 23.

Last year he took on a 268 mile walk which raised over £5,000, but decided to up the pace in his recent task.

Formerly of the Royal Corps of Transport, having served in all over the world, Phil said: “When you join the Armed Forces you become a member of a family. You may not know them all but family they still are. When members of that family need support - you try to do your best to help them. I feel that I have an obligation to support them in any way I can.”

Phil reached a fundraising milestone of £100,000 for Help for Heroes in December 2018 having put on events such as comedy nights, supermarket collections and his first Garrison Gallop in August 2018.

And speaking about his motto behind the mission, he said: “Those who put their lives on the line for us, deserve a second chance at life.”

The money raised by Phil provides lifetime support for the Armed Forces community and their families as well as recovery for those whose lives are affected by their service, no matter when they served.

Phil added: “I feel that our armed forces personnel make sacrifices every single day, and anything we can do to give back to those who have given so much is important.”