A CHARITY walker passed through Okehampton in the opening stages of his mammoth 1,500 miles challenge. Nick Moss from Weston-Super-Mare stopped in the town on July 26 during his 'Walk for Lymphangiomatosis'. The walk, from Lands' End to Inverness, is to raise awareness of the disease and raise money for the treatment of his two year-old son, Ethan. Nick set off on July 24, and will aim to walk the distance in 42 days carrying a 50lb rucksack before the school summer holidays' end.

Nick parked his trailer in the town centre to promote the walk, collect donations and talk to towns people about Ethan's fight against disease.

Lymphangiomatosis is a rare disease where cysts grow throughout the lymph system of the body. Though not cancerous, they invade tissue, and cause a variety of symptoms including breathing difficulties and intense pain. The disease slowly worsens over time, and has a high mortality rate.

Nick told the Times: 'As any concerned parent would want to do is to do the best for their child, I've chosen a walk to be noticed. I've set the walk out to be so demanding to show my commitment to Ethan and to raising awareness and tackling this life threatening condition head-on.

'We haven't been given any hope for him, but we're aiming to get Ethan to see the best specialist who knows all about the disease. But it comes at a great cost as unfortunately it's in America.

'We have a long way to go. We're aiming to raise in the region of £70,000. It's an awful lot of money, because it will be ongoing series of treatment for him once he gets in the American medical system. This is the start of something, and we're confident it can grow and have an impact, not just nationally but internationally as well.'

To sponsor Nick and find out more about the walk, visit http://www.walkforlymphangiomatosis.co.uk">www.walkforlymphangiomatosis.co.uk