Wigan dad spends six hours walking in 80kg vintage diving suit in aid of Daffodils Dreams
Ice cubes and an army of supporters helped a Wigan dad complete a gruelling challenge and raise thousands of pounds for a good cause.
Nigel Brookwell is known for taking on wacky events for charity, from pushing a hospital bed around the course at Run Wigan Festival to crawling all the way from Wigan to Standish.
His latest fund-raiser was one of the toughest, as he aimed to walk from Wigan town centre to Standish wearing a vintage deep-sea diving suit, complete with a helmet, boots and lead weights, which weighs around 80kg.
He put in months on training for his No Rush Challenge, including sessions in the gym and practising walking in the suit.
And on Saturday, Nigel set off from Daffodils Dreams’ boutique, in Wigan town centre, for the Boar’s Head in Standish.
He was joined by a large group of supporters and they stopped at pubs along the way, so Nigel could take much-needed breaks and to collect donations for Daffodils Dreams, which supports children and families in Wigan facing hardship.
Nigel, who lives in Swinley, said: “I did it in six hours. It was terribly hard, but it was exactly what I wanted to achieve. It was brilliant.
"There were lots of smiling faces and lots of happiness and thankfully I made it. There are lots of donations rolling in now.
"The challenge for me properly began at the Cherry Gardens, on Wigan Lane, because it’s exactly a mile there to the Boar’s Head. I had a bit in the tank so I went for it.”
The warm weather brought another challenge for Nigel, but he placed ice cubes wrapped in a towel inside the helmet so they would keep his head cool.
He said: “That helped and we kept cooling the helmet down when we had a rest, because it was heating up so quickly. It was quite dangerous at times.
"But thankfully the breeze was helpful and the sun went in just as I went up Wigan Lane.”
Nigel said he felt “a bit achy” in the days after the challenging, but thinks his training paid off as he was not too sore.
He is now counting up the donations and hopes to reach his £10,000 target for Daffodils Dreams.
Donations can still be made at localgiving.org/fundraising/Nige-s-No-Rush-Challengesupportingdaffodilsdreams.