Arundel man making a difference named finalist for BBC award

The 73-year-old, from Arundel, was nominated after creating and organising the Thames Source to Sea Challenge, which involved traversing the entire 184-mile Thames Path from its source in the Cotswolds down to the Thames Barrier in Greenwich, over two days. More than 150 people participated in the challenge in April this year.

It raised more than £30,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK, a charity that supports over 110,000 people living with muscle-wasting and weakening conditions, like Andy.

In 2019 Andy was diagnosed with limb girdle muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle-wasting condition that predominantly affects the muscles around the shoulder girdle, arms and hip girdle, causing progressive muscle weakness. There is currently no cure.

The retired teacher and Muscular Dystrophy UK volunteer says: “I was surprised and flattered to hear I’d been nominated for the BBC award. I don’t expect to win, it’s just nice that I’ve made the final! I’ve never been nominated for an award like this.

“I’m very lucky that I was able to accomplish so much in my life and do what I wanted to do before my diagnosis. I’d experienced issues swallowing for years and when I turned 68, I experienced muscle loss, which I put down to premature ageing. But after several tests it revealed that it was limb girdle muscular dystrophy – a condition I had never even heard of before. Everything is a challenge now – I have so little strength in my arms that I can’t even itch my head or put my glasses on unless my elbow is propped up on a table. There’s not much this condition leaves me with physically, but my cognitive ability is fully intact.

“The Thames Source to Sea Challenge not only helped to keep me busy during the Covid period but it also helped to raise awareness and money for research into this condition for an incredible cause.”

Andy divided the 184-mile route into 30 sections including a mixture of four and ten-and-a-half miles walks, with each section graded for its accessibility in a traffic light system, making the event accessible for all to participate.

“I felt very emotional when we finished the Thames Source to Sea Challenge because we’d taken over three years to pull it off, and not only was the event cancelled once due to Covid, but again when the Queen’s funeral was scheduled for the same day. I was surrounded by friends and family and people from the community, and I feel very lucky that we could accomplish it.”

Andy is one of four nominated for this category in Sussex, awarded to individuals who make a real difference by giving up their time voluntarily to help a charity or good cause. There are eight award categories all together that covers the unsung heroes of every community.

The winners will be announced at the Make a Difference Awards ceremony hosted by BBC Radio Sussex in East Grinstead, on Monday 25 September.

“We’re really looking forward to the awards evening. We’re going to make a night of it – with my condition we have to be strategic, so we’re hoping to book a hotel nearby to savour the experience. I’m very fragile now – for me to walk using a frame the surface needs to be completely flat, otherwise I’m mostly out and about in my powered wheelchair.

Connal Kelleher, Regional Development Manager for South East at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “Andy has shown incredible resilience and commitment towards the fundraising challenge, completing it successfully after numerous date changes that were out of his control. He’s truly deserving of this award, having been able to lead and inspire more than 100 people to participate in the process and raised an enormous sum that can be put towards essential research into muscle-wasting and weakening conditions. Wishing Andy the best of luck for the awards ceremony.”