72-year-old crawls three miles to raise £2,500 for Swindon charity

Barry Illing, 72, took on the challenge from Down Ampney to Cricklade in support of Prospect Hospice, following a promise he made to friends during the World Cup that he would crawl one mile if England won, two if they finished second, and three if they came third.

After England secured third place, Mr Illing decided to honour his word and set out on the unusual fundraiser.

He said: "I completed the challenge in a better time than I had anticipated and apart from skin damage on my right knee, suffered no other injuries.

"Along the course we collected almost £200 from generous residents of Latton and Cricklade.

"This has been added to my JustGiving page which now stands at nearly £2,500."

Mr Illing began the crawl at 9am in Down Ampney and finished at the White Hart Hotel in Cricklade at around 2pm.

He reached Latton—one mile into the journey—at 9.50am, 40 minutes ahead of schedule.

After a brief stop in the village, he continued to the grave of the blind vicar to lay flowers before setting off again at 11am.

He was greeted with applause as he crawled into the bar at the White Hart Hotel, where a pint was waiting for him on the floor.

His two youngest grandchildren presented him with a medal and trophy.

The challenge was inspired by a similar crawl Mr Illing took part in as a teenager.

The original "World Cup crawl" took place in 1967, a year after England’s World Cup victory, and was organised by his father for local youth groups.

Barry says he was awarded a medal and trophy off his grandchildren, as well as a well-deserved drink from the White Hart pub. (Image: Barry Illing)

Since then, Barry has gone on to partake in multiple crawling events, including attempting the world record for longest crawl twice.

He trained for this latest challenge with daily power walks, weightlifting and weekly 100-metre crawls around his garden.

"It's reliving the old days," he said.

"It's one last adventure for an old man."

His fundraising goal was originally £1,300, enough to cover four nights of care at Prospect Hospice, but he has since gone on to earn just under £2,500.

He hopes the challenge will inspire others to support the hospice in their own unique way.

"I think that's the secret, to keep the name Prospect Hospice in the public domain so that other people can follow with their own adventures and fundraising," he said.