'I'm running 100 10ks to support a brilliant Gosport charity as our military veterans are being neglected'

Kevin Dove, who works in Southwark, south London, is supporting the First Light Trust on Gosport High Street. He has had a strong connection to the armed forces after one of his close friends passed away while serving in Afghanistan at the age of 26.

Mr Dove, who usually volunteers at the hub during the school holidays, said he gives up his time to help former military personnel who are vulnerable in society. Despite setbacks - including The Great South Run being cancelled and injuries - he’s determined to complete his challenge. He told The News: “I just feel that our veterans and pensioners are just neglected. I was originally going to do 10 10k runs, but got a bad injury and was out for nearly a year.

“I ripped the muscles in the sole of my foot, so I had to have numerous scans, treatments and injections. I came back this year to complete the 10 10ks. I wanted to extend it to 100 after the government took away the heating allowance. I’m so determined to complete it. Overcoming the injuries was the main stumbling block.”

Mr Dove said he knew more people would reach out to the First Light Trust due to the financial pressures they would face due to the winter fuel payment being scrapped. He added that the Labour government’s decision - reaffirmed in the October budget announced yesterday (October 30) - has irked him. “When I saw that new policy come out, I wanted to make more of a difference because they would be more reliant on going to the café hubs,” he said.

The First Light trust café hub is a place where veterans and serving personnel can access support services, organised social activities, or somewhere to simply visit for a coffee and a chat. The charity is hoping to expand its operation to London to support more veterans. Mr Dove is fully behind the project, setting up a Just Giving page to raise money for them.

“It will be absolutely fantastic,” he said. “They’ve always wanted to have a London hub and that would be superb. When I went to the Gosport hub, it was really eye-opening to see what they were doing. To have a central hub in London, so many people would benefit from the services they offer. London is crying out for it.”

Mr Dove said the volunteers are incredibly welcoming and offer a wide-range of activities to veterans. “They make such a big impact on the Gosport community,” he added. The main reason which I choose the First Light Trust is that they’re a small charity and they have a goal to build more hubs moving forwards. They’re targeting the right areas and helping the veterans who have served our country.

“It’s important that we provide for them. They served on the front line for us. “A lot of veterans are homeless and it’s not right. They have served our country, paid into the system and served because they love our nation. That fact that any are homerless is plain wrong. The fact that many are isolated and lonely is plain wrong.”