AFTER pulling out of running a marathon for charity, Dave Long feared he had let people down. So he set about saying sorry by walking 220 miles.

Dave, from near Clock Face, had intended to run the Brighton marathon in aid of the Alzheimer’s Charity.

However, after getting injured in the days leading up to the event he was unable to do the run for the cause.

Not wanting to let his sponsors down, Dave instead decided to walk all the way to the headquarters of the Alzheimer’s Society in London to apologise.

Setting off on Monday, May 11 Dave reached his destination last Thursday (May 21) as he completed the 220-mile trek and was greeted by members of the charity.

With no idea of where he was going to sleep during his journey, Dave carried a sleeping bag with him.

And during Dave’s challenge, support increased via Twitter on the hastag #armsaroundalzheimers and by word of mouth.

“It was a mixed bag of emotions and it was a bit of everything,” said Dave, 28.

“There were times I was thinking why have I done this and will people know if I just turned round.

“But the more donations and messages I got, that inspired me to carry on knowing I’ve got the backing of these people and that they are behind me.

“I saw my best friend’s dad suffer from Alzheimer’s and he passed away from it and people I’ve known growing up have been affected by it.

Dave’s eventful journey saw him sleep in cemeteries and bus shelters and get to have tea with firefighters.

“There were some nice occasions like the firemen in Crewe beckoning me over and in Northwich while I was lying down on a bench asleep two ladies who ran a cafe walked up to me.

“They said we’ve seen what you’ve been doing on Twitter and agree with what you’re doing and gave me some cheese sandwiches.

“I had the mentality of trying to inspire people to do things for strangers so that was good.”

Dave’s online Just Giving page has raised more than £2,000 already. To donate visit: www.justgiving.com/doabit