'A million steps for charity that got me sober'

1 hour ago

News image — David Kerr aims to walk one million steps in a month to raise money for Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care after it helped him get sober

David Kerr A man in a white T-shirt, sunglasses and a black cap gives the camera a thumbs up as he stands beside the South Downs Way National Trail sign — David Kerr aims to walk one million steps in a month to raise money for Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care after it helped him get sober

A Surrey man aims to walk one million steps in August to raise funds for the charity that saved his life.

David Kerr said his drinking had led him to a place he "couldn't see a way out of" but support from Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care (SDAC) gave him a "glint of hope" when he had none.

"A number of years ago, the odds of me turning my life around were a million to one," he said. "What changed everything was a free local charity. It gave me a roadmap out of the darkness."

The 42-year-old, is now walking 33,000 steps a day, around his full-time job in accounting, in a bid to raise £10,000 for SDAC.

Kerr, from Oxted, took the first week of August off work, to complete the North Downs 50 Ultra Challenge, before walking the full 99.4 miles (160km) South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne in five days, giving him a head start as he was averaging around 40,000 steps a day.

He added: "For the next three weeks I am back at work and I need to build these steps around my life.

"It's the same as recovery, where you need to build things into your daily life.

"It's just about breaking it down into bite-sized chunks. Little and often."

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David Kerr A man in white T-shirt and black shorts, holds a medal aloft with a 50km sign in front of a Finisher sign for the the North Downs Ultra Challenge — Kerr kick started his challenge walking 50km (31 miles) of the North Downs Ultra Challenge on August 1

Kerr said SDAC's telephone counselling and bootcamp service supported him through his recovery from alcohol dependence and he hopes his challenge will raise funds to help it continue.

He said the bootcamp was "intensive, personal, and completely free to everyone who needs it".

"It's there at the end of a phone for people at their lowest, but it only exists because people fund it.

"Every pound keeps that phone line open and ready for someone who needs it."

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