Local man, or ‘Tenby Boy’ as he prefers to be known, Nicky Lloyd recently completed his Just Giving ‘10,000 steps a day challenge’ for every one of the 31 days in March in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Nicky began his challenge on March 1, just 30 days after undergoing a seven-hour operation to remove a seven centimetre cancerous tumour on his right kidney. Nicky is full of praise for our NHS and, in particular, the wonderful staff at Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, Glangwili Hospita,l Carmarthen, and Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest.

Admitted to the Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli in the last week of January, Nicky was on the operating table just three weeks after the cancer diagnosis and the care he received from the dedicated staff from prognosis to treatment and after care has been nothing shy of truly wonderful.

Nicky’s treatment would not have been possible were it not for the innovative work of Cancer Research UK through the years and so he felt he wanted to give something back, by way of thanks, and to aid the continued research and discovery in the fight against Ccancer that affects one in two people in their lifetime.

So he set up his Just Giving page and his challenge to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day, for the 31 days in March, duly began on Monday, March 1, 2021, and, at that stage, Nicky hoped to raise £500 for his chosen charity.

Thanks to the generosity of friends and family and Nicky’s daily updates on social media, the donations started pouring in and by the time he completed his final walk, on the coast path from Saundersfoot to Tenby, on Wednesday, March 31, the fund had exceeded £3,000.

The total raised so far is £3,400 in aid of Cancer Research UK and Nicky offers these words of thanks: “I am truly touched and humbled by the kindness and generosity of my wonderful family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances and I shall never forget, for the rest of my days, how you all responded to my fundraising appeal during these unprecedented times. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.”

By the time Nicky had completed his walking challenge he had ‘stepped’ 400,000 steps and, despite blisters in the first week, he enjoyed every single step he took.

“I genuinely believe that people are, even during troubled times, mostly kind and considerate of others and I hope, going forward, the world is a better place for all that we have been through,” he added.