Former England cricketer Lord Ian Botham says he is “proud” of his fundraising walks for leukaemia research, describing them as “a lot of fun and pain”.
The former Somerset player raised more than £12m for charity, with his first walk taking place in 1985.
Lord Botham said the challenges started after he saw four children at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton when he was receiving treatment for a broken foot.
“The doctor said well you’ve got eight to ten weeks for treatment and I don’t think those boys will be with us and, at the end of my treatment, they weren’t. I said to Kath, we have to do something positive.”
He added: “It’s all about awareness. The leukaemia walks was the awareness and in those days there was a 20% chance of survival, now it’s a 94 to 95% chance. So that is terrific.”
The money raised by Lord Botham over the last four decades has supported Blood Cancer UK (formerly Leukaemia Research).
