IT took 58 days of pushing himself to his limits... .

But Wigton man Charles Deans has now achieved his personal wheelchair challenge, covering 874 miles in 10 weeks - a distance equivalent to a road trip from John O’ Groats to Land’s End.

His gruelling fundraiser is part of Charles’s incredible fightback from disability - and his chance to help two good local causes while honouring the memory of his late sister Helen Deans, 43, who died last year from pancreatic cancer.

His wheelchair oddyssey - on roads across north Cumbria - has raised £10,500 for The Lake District based Calvert Trust and Eden Valley Hospice, whose staff cared for his sister.

“Because I finished the 874 miles early - in just under eight weeks - I’m going to keep going and go for a 1,000 miles,” said Charles, who was left paralysed at the age of 31 after complications following a back operation.

After a journey to the summit of Dodd Fell last year, Charles was inspired to rebuild his life.

Of his fundraiser, he said: “I just wanted to prove to people that I could do it. I managed to do 53.4 miles in one day and was exhausted. But I went out again the next day.”

That determination is typical of Charles. He said: “The passing of my sister was a massive thing to come to terms with. It made me take stock of my life; and then there was that moment at the top of the mountain last year.It ignited a fire inside me.”

Charles paid tribute to the local businesses which have supported his fundraiser, despite facing their own pandemic challenges. The former builder is also being supported by his wife Sara, a schoolteacher, and their daughters.

Local schoolchildren entered a competition to design a T-shirt which Charles aims to wear on the final leg of his wheelchair journey from from the Calvert Trust HQ near Keswick to Eden Valley Hospice.

He said Calvert Trust gave opportunity to disabled people while Eden Valley Hospice offers care and compassion to families in need.

For more information on his fundraiser, go to

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=CharlesDeans&pageUrl=2

And for more on Charles’ story, go to his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/charles.deans.96