A RETIRED lieutenant is hoping to "put to rest" an injury as he takes on a monumental walk to raise funds for a veteran's charity.

Adrian Smythe, 42, from Slough, will be walking 100km from London to Brighton to raise funds for Blind Veterans UK.

Mr Smythe served in the South African army on the Mozambique border as the lead of counter intelligence from 1993 to 1999, and left as a full lieutenant before moving to the UK in 2000.

He suffered a serious knee injury which meant he could not complete his officer endurance training in South Africa, and wants to use this walk as a way to mentally recover from the injury.

He said: "I have a nervous anticipation about it. I am apprehensive about it and you never know if you have done enough training.

"I have no idea what to expect but I am hoping that the support and camaraderie will be good on the day.

"The first thing that got me interested was that it was a 100km walk. I thought it would be something I would like to achieve and I can put something to rest having not done my endurance training."

Mr Smythe's grandfather, sergeant Quentin Smythe, received the Victoria Cross for his services, and Mr Smythe, who is now an IT project manager working in London, is keen to support a charity he has been inspired by.

Having grown up in South Africa and visited parts of Europe, Mr Smythe is determined to help blind veterans who will not be able to witness the beautiful sights he has seen again.

He said: "Anyone who gets injured in the line of duty will have a massive challenge from there onwards, and such is the power of sight that they will not be able to appreciate the beauty of the world ever again.

"They won't be able to see their kids grown up or the sun go down - it really tugs on the heart strings.

"If it happened while they were trying to protect our civil liberties and our way of life then they deserve our support."

The challenge takes place on Saturday, July 2, beginning in Fulham, and takes in a route along the banks of the River Thames, through countryside paths in Surrey, Sussex and the North and South Downs, finishing at the charity's centre in Ovingdean, Brighton.

To support Mr Smythe, visit www.justgiving.com/AdrianSmythe and to sign up for the challenge visit www.blindveterans.org.uk/100k