Man walks 30 miles up and down Weston's Grand Pier in memory of his wife

A dedicated charity walker who survived open-heart surgery has walked 30-miles around a pier to mark three decades of fundraising.

Paul Hobbs walked 111 laps around Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier on Thursday 15 August to mark the anniversary.

Over the past 30 years, the 75-year-old has raised more than a million pounds for various charities, saying that fundraising is "part of his life".

"I get such a buzz and sense of reward for believing that I might be doing something good in helping somebody, contributing to saving lives in a small way," he said.

Mr Hobbs, who completed his first challenge in 1994, said he has received "tremendous support" over the years.

He said: "People have come back continually supporting me, and for every single person who's helped me in those thirty years, at any time, I'd like to say thank you."

Mr Hobbs completed his latest challenge in memory of his wife Maureen, who died in June after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He is hoping to raise £10,000 for Cancer Research UK, to fund research into rare cancers that are untreatable and incurable.

Mr Hobbs said he had to be careful during the walk as he suffered a life-threatening aneurysm near his heart in 2019, though he was "confident" ahead of starting.

He said: "I only had major heart surgery myself five years ago, so I do have to be mindful, but I think it's about you manage it - have a stop, pace yourself.

"After three decades, I still hope to keep going for as long as I can, well as long as I am healthy and fit enough."

"I've had tremendous support, and I'd like to thank everbody over the past thirty years for helping me, help others," he added.

Mr Hobbs invited people to support by donating to his Cancer Research UK page.