Covid: Supporters send Captain Sir Tom Moore best wishes as 100-year-old in hospital with coronavirus

  • Video report by ITV News Reporter Sally Biddulph

Supporters have sent Captain Sir Tom Moore their best wishes after it was announced that the 100-year-old has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.

A Twitter statement from the charity fundraiser's daughter said that the 100-year-old was hospitalised on Sunday after requiring "help with his breathing" and that he is not in intensive care.

Captain Sir Tom's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said that her father had had pneumonia for the last few weeks "and last week tested positive for Covid-19".

ITV News understands that due to Captain Sir Tom’s treatment for pneumonia, he was unable to receive the vaccine.

In a statement on Twitter, Ms Ingram-Moore wrote that her father "is being treated in a ward, although he is not in ICU.

"The medical care he has received in the last few weeks has been remarkable and we know that the wonderful staff at Bedford Hospital will do all the can to make him comfortable and hopefully return home as soon as possible.

"We understand that everyone will be wishing him well.

"We are of course focusing on my father and will update you when we are able to."

Captain Tom Moore raised millions for charity by walking laps of his garden in the spring of 2020. Credit: PA

Captain Tom became a national hero and raised more than £33 million for NHS charities during the height of the first coronavirus wave in the spring when he set himself a walking challenge.

He had originally set out to raise £1,000 by talking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday on April 30.

But his sterling efforts inspired a lock-downed nation looking for good news among the increasingly bleak headlines, and donations and well-wishes soon flooded in.

His efforts saw him knighted by the Queen in July and he was singled out for praise by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said the centenarian had “provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus”.

  • ITV Anglia Reporter Rebecca Haworth outside the hospital where Captain Tom is being treated

Captain Tom was made a Knight by the Queen in the sun-soaked gardens of Windsor Castle in July.“I remember saying, ‘I hope the Queen is gentle with this sword!’” he tells GQ in the accompanying article where Captain Tom is seeing modeling a swanky designer suit - an experience he relished.

“(I) enjoyed watching all the people whose job it was to get me just right, doing a little bit here and a little bit there, fiddling with my collar,” he said.

Captain Tom capped off a whirlwind year by becoming GQ's oldest cover star as the magazine awarded him its 'Inspiration' award as part of its Men Of The Year issue.

Six-year-old Tony Hudgell, who was inspired by Captain Sir Tom to complete a heroic walking challenge and raised more than £1 million for the NHS hospital that saved his life, told ITV News that the veteran was his "hero".

In a message for Captain Sir Tom, the schoolboy said: "Hi Captain Tom, I hope you get better because I really want to meet you."

Tony said that after seeing the 100-year-old carrying out his challenge on TV, he realised : "I can do that."

The youngster then went on to walk 10km in 30 days on his prosthetic legs - further than he had ever walked before.

Soon after Ms Ingram-Moore revealed her father's illness, well-wishers began tweeting their support for the centenarian, wishing him a speedy recovery.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "My thoughts are very much with @CaptainTomMoore and his family. You’ve inspired the whole nation, and I know we are all wishing you a full recovery."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "The whole nation hopes you get well soon @captaintommoore. You've been an inspiration to us all throughout this crisis."

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that he was "praying" for Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Journaliat Piers Morgan said that the country was "rooting" for Captain Tom, alongside one of the pictures from the GQ shoot.

Singer Michael Ball, who recorded a charity single with Captain Tom Moore that reached number one, sent his "love and prayers" for Captain Tom and his "lovely family".

"Stay strong Sir. We are all here for you," he added.