A war hero told he would never walk again passed through the borough Merton on Sunday as he neared the end of a yearlong 2012 mile walk across the UK and Northern Ireland.
Four years ago Phil Packer MBE, was told he would never walk again after sustaining spinal cord injuries paralysing him from the waist down during a rocket attack while on active duty in Basra, Iraq.
Despite this the former army major went on to row the channel, walk the London marathon over 14 days and climb El Capitan in 2009 raising £1.3 million for wounded soldiers and earning him the title of fund-raiser of the year at the Pride of Britain Awards.
Mr Packer met fire fighters, councillors and MPs at Wimbledon fire station as part of his BRIT 2012 Challenge - the equivalent of walking 310 marathon distances in 331 days.
Fire fighters then joined Mr Packer in walking to the civic centre in Morden.
Following the visit Mr Packer wrote in his blog: "It was great to have time to talk to the Fire fighters and councillors and we were followed by all their fire engines and appliances through Wimbledon and Merton.
"It was a great afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed myself."
The walk is not sponsored but aims to raise awareness of BRIT - a project launched by Mr Packer which aims to instil confidence in and support young people living with a disability.
His year-long challenge will end in Canary Wharf on December 18.
For more information visit philpacker.com
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