Blind army veteran sets off from Hereford to continue Land's End to John O'Groats challenge
Darren Blanks lost his sight when he was 23-years-old
A blind army veteran is setting off from Hereford today as he continues his attempt to run from Land's End to John O’Groats.
Darren Blanks was diagnosed with a brain tumour which led to him losing his sight when he was 23-years-old, along with his hearing in his left ear.
He started his challenge last Friday and arrived in the city yesterday afternoon, completing a 34-mile stretch of his journey which saw him begin the day in Chepstow.
Executive Principal of the Royal National College (RNC) for the Blind Lucy Proctor was one of those who greeted Darren when he arrived, and says he's a real inspiration.
She said: "He's put together this absolutely incredible challenge, and every time I look at it I have to catch my breath a little bit thinking about the scale of what he's doing.
"Looking at Darren's story, he's gone through his education, he's joined the army, then he's had this sight loss, and it's something that a lot of people here at RNC can relate to, just that you think you're on a certain path for your life and then everything changes.
"One of the most important things that we do is work with our students when this has happened, so that they can learn the skills that they're going to need to live the rest of their lives independently.
"Darren's such a great role model and it was great we could welcome him to Hereford and really celebrate what he's doing."
Darren is aiming to reach the finish line of his challenge on 13 September.