A blind veteran from Devon is set to walk 25km alongside nine fellow blind veterans to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women, which has given him his life back. 

Lee Whitfield, 49 and from Plymouth, will be taking part in the South Coast Ultra on September 6. 

He will set off from Eastbourne with a guide to walk along the South Downs Way with the rest of the Blind Veterans UK team, all of whom have set themselves their own personal goal to walk 25km, 57km or 100km.  

 Lee lost his sight suddenly in his mid-40s following a brain haemorrhage and is now black blind which means he has no sight at all. He says: “I went into a coma and woke in hospital a few weeks later; it wasn’t immediately obvious that I’d lost my sight as I was hallucinating and seeing all sorts of things. It was absolutely terrifying.   

“When I realised what had happened, I thought my life was over. I was discharged from hospital a day before the country went into the first Covid lockdown adding to my feeling of loss and isolation.”  

Lee began to receive the support of Blind Veterans UK later that year. He says: “Blind Veterans UK has been amazing; the charity has given me back the skills and confidence to face up to my new life and to make the most of every day. I’ve been provided with counselling and technology. Having the charity by my side has made me feel safe.”  

In May, Lee marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a fundraising swim taking on 80 lengths of his local pool. Now he is back to take on the South Coast Ultra alongside his fellow blind veterans.  

In June Lee stayed at the charity’s Rustington Centre for a training week ahead of the South Coast Ultra. The aim of the week was to build his fitness and resilience to ready him for the mammoth task ahead and to prepare him for the challenge of walking on a variety of different terrains. 

Lee says: “I found the training week really tough, much harder than I had anticipated. Being black blind, I was finding that I was placing my foot in the middle of stones; my feet were in agony; it was gruelling. I’m going to do the 25k distance as that will be enough of a challenge for me.   

“It will be good to be taking this challenge on as part of a team and being able to encourage each other. I’ll feel extremely proud of myself to complete this one and to have done my bit to again fundraise for the charity that has already helped me so much.” 

If you would like to make a donation to support Lee and the rest of the Blind Veterans UK team with their fundraising please visit their Just Giving page: justgiving.com/page/scu25    

If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and are now struggling with sight loss, then please get in touch. Call 0800 389 7979 or visitblindveterans.org.uk/gethelp