Former soldier from North West is a man on a mission in Armistice Day fundraiser

A former soldier from the North West who served in the Royal Lancers is to set finish his eleven-day challenge in honour of Armistice Day tomorrow.

Mike Burton, who served for 15 years, started his 11km walk for 11 days while wearing an 11kg vest on November 1.

During the course of his challenge, he has been joined by colleagues from Jaguar Land Rover in Halewood, where he now works, who have cycled, ran and walked distances in multiples of 11.

His challenge is to raise money for two Armed Forces charities: Mission for Motorsport, which helps the recovery and rehabilitation of veterans through motorsport and the automotive industry and The Royal British Legion.

Mike took on the challenge after discovering ex-services’ charities were struggling for funds because of the coronavirus pandemic, he said: "Many of these charities rely almost entirely on public interaction at events, which have all been cancelled due to the pandemic."

As Mike was at work during most of the challenge, he wore the 11kg weighted vest during his shifts to walk the bulk of his 11km daily target. 

Mike continued: “These charities offer veterans the chance of a positive and bright future, which is why I still volunteer as much as I can to help others going through what I did.”

Trevor Leeks, Plant Director at Jaguar Land Rover Halewood, said: “I’m incredibly proud of Mike and the team for what they are trying to achieve with their challenge, and of all our employees who have gone that extra mile to help support charities and organisations in our community who are struggling in these unprecedented times.”