Blind veteran to walk 25km for service charity

A BLIND veteran from Plymouth is set to walk 25km alongside nine fellow blind veterans to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, which 'has given him his life back.

- By AMBER GAWRON

Lee Whitfield is set to walk the 25km from Eastbourne with a guide, alongside the Blind Veterans UK team, to raise money for fellow blind veterans like himself.

Each of the Blind Veterans UK team members have set themselves their own personal goal to walk 25km, 57km or 100km.

The 49-year-old suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2020. When he woke up, he had gone black blind, meaning he has no sight at all.

He says: "I went into a coma and woke in hospital a few weeks later; it wasn't immediately obvious that I'd lost my sight as I was hallucinating and seeing all sorts of things. It was absolutely terrifying.

"When I realised what had happened, I thought my life was over. I was discharged from hospital a day before the country went into the first Covid lockdown, adding to my feeling of loss and isolation."