Portsmouth man with lung cancer to take on 26,000 step challenge

Eric Compton from Portsmouth suffers with lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and has been shielding since the Covid-19 pandemic began in order to protect his health.

But the 72-year-old is determined to keep active and raise money for the British Lung Foundation this Sunday by doing 26,000 steps as part of the 2.6 challenge, which is aiming to give charities across the UK a fundraising boost with the public being encouraged to take on a challenge involving the numbers 2 and 6.

Eric, who is the chairman for the Breathe Easy Portsmouth group which supports people with chronic lung conditions, said: ‘I try to do steps daily anyway to help my health so I thought I would set myself this challenge and I wanted to raise money for the BLF as fundraising has really dropped for them.

‘It is also an important charity because Covid-19 affects the lungs and more people will need support.’