Captain Tom Moore's fundraising walk for the NHS has passed an astonishing £10 million.
The 99-year-old is walking 100 laps of his back garden before his 100th birthday in an effort to raise money for frontline NHS workers battling the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 134,000 lives worldwide, including almost 13,000 in the UK.
Moore's effort has captured the imagination of the nation and the donations to his cause have risen from £1 million at 9am on Tuesday to more than £10m just 38 hours later.
The figure shatters the previous record for a fundraiser on charity website Just Giving, surpassing the £5 million raised by heroic teenage blogger Stephen Sutton before his death from cancer in 2014.
Almost half a million people worldwide have now backed Moore - a World War II veteran - in his endeavour, which is actually worth more than £12 million so far once Gift Aid is factored in.
That figure could fund 480 nurses' salaries for a year, 2,400 small ventilators or a staggering 30,000 new hospital beds.
Speaking at the government's daily press briefing earlier today, health secretary Matt Hancock said: "I want to pay a special tribute today to Captain Tom Moore who, at the age of 99, has raised over £7million so far for NHS charities by completing 100 laps of his garden.
"Captain Tom, you're an inspiration to us all and we thank you."
Moore is expected to reach his 100th lap tomorrow morning, 14 days ahead of schedule.
