Soldier marches through Dunstable on epic journey to raise money for heart charity in memory of dad

A soldier will be passing through Dunstable as he marches through England this week raising money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in memory of his father who died of heart disease in 2019.

Colour Sergeant Stuart Collins sets off on his 120-mile walk from Staffordshire at 7am yesterday (Wednesday) and is due to arrive in the early hours of the morning two days later in London. He is due to arrive in Dunstable at around 3pm today (Thursday).

The soldier from The Mercian Regiment took on a similar challenge for Ukraine Aid last year after he spent time working with local soldiers in the country before the war broke out. He will continue fundraising for the Ukrainian charity alongside BHF.

Stuart, who is the father to five children including his step-children, will start his journey at his regimental headquarters in Lichfield on 24th May, carrying a backpack with daily rations, water and a change of clothing including boots.

He will then make his way to the A5 and keep walking day and night without sleep all the way into central London where he will stop at BHF’s head office before finishing at the Ukraine embassy.

His journey will take him through the heart of England and includes passing through Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and into London. Stuart will be accompanied by colleagues from his regiment and supported by a team including his wife Louise – a nurse.

He has calculated the entire journey will take about 40 hours with short stops along the way to refuel and treat any blisters. He said he had originally planned to make the journey earlier but was called up for parade duties at the King’s coronation so put it back to later in the month.

Speaking about his inspiration for the challenge, Stuart said the death of his father Paul Collins from coronary heart disease in November 2019 had been a huge shock to the whole family.

“In a nutshell, one of the arteries in his heart was blocked for several years which he was aware of but none of us knew about until he died,” said Stuart.

“He was only 62 and he was very active but yes he did have a drink and he did smoke and when I looked at his medical records after he died I saw that his doctors had been warning him for a few years.

“This is one of the reasons I want to do this walk - I want to raise awareness of the importance of having a healthy lifestyle as well as helping to raise funds for research into heart disease.

“We don’t know if what happened to my dad runs in the family or not - I have been tested and everything has come back clear for now, but you always have to take positives from the negative and at least me, my brother and our children are aware and know what to look out for”.

Stuart hopes to raise £4,000 for charity from his walk and will be taking bright red BHF collection buckets along with him.