Personal trainer collects MBE after walking to Windsor from Middlesbrough for charity

A personal trainer from Teesside has said it was "magical" to collect his MBE at Windsor Castle after walking 250 miles from Middlesbrough to get there.

Mike Hind, who received the honour for his work delivering food and essentials to vulnerable families during the pandemic, decided to make the journey by foot to raise money for the armed forces charity SSAFA.

He said: "It was just something I wanted to do to show my appreciation for what I've got and I didn't want to just come and take the glory and almost accept it without grace."

The personal trainer's walk raised more than his original target of £25,000.

He was handed his medal by the Prince of Wales, who advised him to celebrate with a tipple.

Mr Hind said: "He knew about the walk, he congratulated me and said that was a great cause and he'd never heard of anyone else who'd done it before.

"And then he said 'you've earned a whisky so go home and have one'. I don't drink whisky, but if Prince Charles says that I have to have one then I'll do as I'm told. I think I will have to go and try it."

Mr Hind said that, although he is a personal trainer by trade, the 20-day walk had been the most physically challenging endeavour of his life.

The father-of-three was joined by his family and friends for the final four-mile stretch on the weekend, which he described as "surreal".

He said the best part of the journey had been seeing "different people's ways of life", including one man he met who lived on a barge on a London canal with his dog, Dexter.

Mr Hind said: "We all worry about the chores in life and what's gone on over the past couple of years and the struggles we've all faced, but that one gentleman and his dog just had no worries."

Of his previous charity work, Mr Hind said he worked with "some amazing people" to deliver meals to 3,000 children every day during the Christmas holidays and school holidays.

He said: "This year we managed to turn my gym into Santa's grotto, so Santa came down from the North Pole and gave 1,000 children from schools across Teesside who weren't going to see him for Christmas the magical experience of seeing Santa and getting a present.

"I can't take credit for that because I couldn't and I wouldn't do a lot without the amazing support from family, friends and from people on social media".