A CHRISTCHURCH pensioner has put his best foot forward to trek 930 miles to raise money for an African village.

Dudley Powell, 66, who lives at Homechurch House in Christchurch raised more than £6,000 by walking from Dover to Land’s End in Cornwall in 46 days.

His mammoth journey included a trip around the Isle of Wight and having travelled the breadth of the country, he walked another 140 miles to the Somerset town of Minehead.

Mr Powell walked around 21 miles a day spending nights with friends, church groups, youth hostels and bed and breakfasts.

He said: “My neighbours at Homechurch House helped me with the fundraising.

“One of them even printed a copy of the blog I wrote for the trip and posted a copy on the communal notice board.”

The former missionary and vicar raised the money for a community centre called The Foofo Centre in the remote village of Barkoundouba in the West African country of Burkina Faso.

The centre, run by Fulani Ministries, acts as an agricultural college, vocational training centre for local women and community meeting place for a rural community.

Peverel Retirement managing director Keith Edgar said: “Not many 66-year-olds would consider crossing the breadth of the UK on foot, but the fact Dudley did it to help people who live thousands of miles away makes it even more impressive.”