Simon Lord successfully completed a 57-mile sponsored walk to raise money for a new hospital in Watlington.

Mr Lord, 42 walked from Avebury, in Wiltshire, to Watlington in just under 20 hours.

With sponsorship still coming in, he is confident the trek will have raised more than £500 for the Watlington Hospital Charitable Trust.

The trust recently won planning permission to build a 60-bed hospital and nursing home in Hill Road, Watlington, and needs £1.4m to buy the development site.

The town's original 12-bed hospital was closed by cost-cutting NHS managers in February 2000. The trust's campaign for a replacement hospital to serve the community has had overwhelming support from residents.

Mr Lord, of Westfield Road, Cholsey - a recruitment consultant who used to train with the Territorial Army - saw the sun rise on the Ridgeway before he finally reached Watlington on Saturday evening. A back-up team met him every four hours with food and water.

He said: "Luckily the rain held off for most of the walk, and I finished in glorious sunshine. My back-up team were excellent and I had a real sense of achievement at the finish, and not too many blisters."