DOUSLAND resident Roger Mechan has completed his fifth trek through Europe to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice and Help for Heroes.

The 68-year-old retired Devon and Cornwall policeman has so far trekked more than 2,000 miles and raised £12,200 for St Luke’s and £7,400 for Help for Heroes.

This year, Roger completed a 38-day, 600 mile solo trek along the Via de la Plata, a pilgrim trail running from Seville to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

At a street collection held in Tavistock on November 20, £269 was collected in aid of St Luke’s Hospice and as Roger pays his own expenses, this sum will go to the hospice without deductions.

Roger said: ‘I’ve been holding collections in Tavistock over the last four years in support of my trekking exploits for charity. Not only are people here exceptionally generous but they are interested in my experiences.

‘Occasionally, when collecting for St Luke’s, people stop and tell me how professional and compassionate the hospice have been in the way staff have eased a loved one with a fatal illness peacefully towards the end of their life. Quite often the memory reduces them to tears and I find myself consoling them. I think sometimes it is easier to talk to a stranger when it’s not quite so important to keep a stiff upper lip.

‘I also find people are interested in how they can volunteer to help a charity and I’m able to point them in the right direction. So it’s not simply standing in the street with a collection bucket, there is also great interaction with the public.’

Roger said by Christmas he will have collected a combined total in excess of £20,000 and ‘intends to keep going until his knees give up!’ To read more about Roger’s exploits visit: www.justgiving.com/stlukespilgrim