THERE can be a fine line between inspiration and madness in our humble opinion. A main case in point was Major Chris Brannigan who came marching through the patch this week in a very brisk fashion and raising huge amounts of money. There was a reason, he had no boots and he had trekked from Lands End via London, around 500 miles by the time he got here and with many further miles to get to his destination in Edinburgh.

The feet were a mess, but he cheerfully insisted he was battling on. Army colleagues and friends had walked with him along the way and there was much support but there was no getting away from the fact that as he admitted himself it was excruciatingly painful just to put one foot in front of another.

But it was for his little girl, his eight year old daughter Hasti has a rare genetic condition, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, which will restrict her future quality of life and leave her permanently needing around-the-clock care. The family aimed to raise £400,000 to set up research. For Chris it was obviously gruelling but when we met him on his walk he was simply cheerful and astonished at the support.

He did issue a warning that no one should try this at home because it was madness. His feet had been ripped by rusty nails and stones, gravel repeatedly found its way into painful sores and there could even be lasting damage.

In the end it was what he had to do, no discussion, no regrets, but total gratitude that people had got behind him and were prepared to part with their hard earned cash, put coronavirus into a separate box for a bit, and help his family. Inspirational certainly, mad well that's a matter of opinion. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barefootacrossbritain