Retired Naval Seaman and adventurer aims for the Guinness Book of World Records
23 September 2013
Former Able Seaman and leg amputee completed a 24-hour hand-bikeathon and raised over £1000 for his chosen forces charity Blesma, The Limbless Veterans.
Richard Hunt, 43 of Fareham who lost the use his leg during service as a Radar Operator with the Royal Navy at the age of 18, undertook a hand-bikeathon with three others on 8 September and raised £1070 for Blesma, The Limbless Veterans.
Blesma Member Richard, who has since had an amputation, completed the hand-bikeathon with team-mates Tim Snowden, Paul Massey and Ricky Downes covering a distance of 713km between them.
Richard took part in the hand-bikeathon not only to raise money for Blesma, but also to raise awareness of his big upcoming challenge, The Great Paddle Round, which will see him kayak around the outside of the British Isles, a distance of over 2000 miles starting in April 2014.
Richard says: “Blesma is a fantastic charity that supports service personnel irrespective of when or how they were injured and I am dedicated to doing whatever I can to raise their profile. No one has attempted 24 hours of continuous hand-cycling before, so we are all keeping our fingers crossed for a mention in the Guinness World Records! The team worked together magnificently and I could not have got this far without their support. We are sure Blesma will put the money to great use.”
After retiring from teaching in 2007, Richard now devotes his time entirely to concocting new ideas to raise money for Blesma and taking on physical challenges.
Blesma, The Limbless Veterans is the national charity for all limbless service men and women, their widows and dependants. It was formed in the years following the First World War and became a national charity in 1932.
To support Richard’s big challenge, go to www.justgiving.com/richieoneleg
-ENDS-
Notes to Editor
Hi-res images can be downloaded from the links below
Richard and his hand-bikeathon team:
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About Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
Blesma, The Limbless Veterans is the national charity for all limbless serving and ex service men and women, their widows and dependants. It is a membership organisation which helps wounded service men and women rebuild their lives by providing rehabilitation activities and welfare support. Their membership includes those who have lost the use of a limb, an eye or the sight of an eye.
Blesma was formed in the years following the First World War and became a national charity in 1932. Blesma today has over 4000 Members and widows. The membership consists of men and women who have served during the Second World War and the many subsequent conflicts and peacekeeping operations since, including the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
About The Great Paddle Round
Richard Hunt intends to become the first above knee amputee to successfully circumnavigate the UK – a distance of approximately 2300 miles – using a Tootega expedition grade sit-on-top kayak.
This will be a solo undertaking with the back up of a shore crew, although at certain points during the journey kayakers will be invited to join Richard by 'buying a leg', i.e. getting themselves sponsored, and thus become part of this extraordinary challenge.
The journey is expected to take around 4 months, but this is of course dependent on the weather. However long it takes Richard is determined to succeed and complete the challenge.
For more information on The Great Paddle Round visit www.thegreatpaddleround.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @BLESMA
For further information on Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, contact
Bryony Stevens, Media and Communications Assistant
T: 020 8590 1124
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