A HEROIC teenager from Rugby raised thousands of pounds for a lifesaving charity after taking part in a mammoth 630-mile coastal trek – even stopping to help an injured woman on the way.
Tyler Hersey raised just under £7,700 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) after walking from Minehead to Poole in 31 days.
The 17-year-old walked along the South West Coastal Path where he visited 27 RNLI lifeboat stations on his route.
It took a whole year to plan the trek, which saw him walk between 13 and 28 miles a day – with the RNLI fundraising team checking in with him daily.
But he was happy to fall behind schedule to help an injured hiker.
He said: “I came across someone who had fallen and had a suspected broken leg. I’m first aid trained so knew it was important that she got help.
“I called an ambulance and waited with her, helped the crew carry some kit up to where she was, and also helped carry the stretcher down. It put me three hours behind schedule, but it was worth it to know that she was okay.”
Tyler, who is studying Health and Social Care at Leamington College, has aspirations to move to Poole and volunteer for the charity one day while also working as a paramedic – which was the inspiration behind the solo walking challenge.
He said: “I’m so pleased to complete the walk and raise so much money for the charity. I thought it would be hard to hit £5,000, so to raise over £7,000 is just amazing.
“The walk as a whole was quite mentally challenging with me doing most of it alone, but I was joined by friends and family for parts of it and I also met so many incredible people along the way, with some even giving donations.
“Luckily the weather was dry the majority of the walk, but I was really exposed to the sun and wind on the coastal paths which was difficult at times – and I also had a lot of blisters to deal with, which was probably the worst bit!
“I packed as light as possible, and people brought me clean clothes along the journey when they came to join me for parts of the walk.”
He said it was amazing to meet RNLI crew members at the lifeboat stations he visited along the way.
“I decided to finish the challenge in Poole which is my favourite lifeboat station, and while I was there I hit £7,000 in donations which really topped off the whole challenge.
“I also know that everything I’m learning is getting me closer to my dream job as a paramedic, which I hope to do alongside volunteering from the RNLI one day.”
