Man from Caunton walks 45 miles to raise funds for twins with cerebral palsy

A man has walked 45 miles to raise funds for twins with cerebral palsy.

Kev Hempsall, originally from Caunton, walked from his North Hykeham home to the Humber Bridge for four-year-old Matthew and James Smith.

It took nine hours and 40 minutes.

The money raised has gone towards efforts to help the twins improve their mobility.

“I have been power walking for more than 14 years, but this was one of the biggest walks yet,” Kev said.

“Once a year I look at how I can help people and try to improve a person’s life in one way or another.

“I work with Matt and James’s dad, Andrew, and that’s where the decision to walk for them came from.

“I tried to raise as much as I could. They have their lives ahead of them and if I can help them get them on their feet and walking again, then that’s that.”

The twins were born nine weeks premature and, as a result, both have cerebral palsy.

James, who took his first unaided steps recently, had an selective dorsal rhizotomy operation, which treated the muscle spasticity in his legs to help him move more comfortably.

As James has stage two cerebral palsy his £10,000 operation was on the NHS, which will also cover up to £7,000 of physiotherapy.

However, Matthew is stage four and cannot walk. Due to the severity of his condition, the operation and rehabilitation is not covered by the NHS, which led to a crowd-funding campaign.

Andrew, of Eagle, said: “We are really grateful for the support from Kev.

“It is an on-going thing that we are always holding fundraising events for and the support has been generous so far.”

So far, the walk has raised £810. To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowd funding/kevswalktothehumber

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