BOURNEMOUTH MP Conor Burns said Captain Sir Tom Moore “brought the nation together and inspired us in the dark days of Covid”.

Captain Tom’s incredible fundraising effort during the first coronavirus lockdown in England saw millions of pounds donated to the NHS.

The 100-year-old died in Bedford Hospital on the morning of Tuesday, February 2, after testing positive for Covid-19.

Bournemouth West MP Mr Burns told the Daily Echo: “Now, maybe for the first time since this dreadful situation began, literally everyone in our country will be able to say with some feeling that they knew someone who died with Covid.

“He was taken to the hearts of the nation. He was an inspiration in his quiet dignity and determination.

“There are few people who can have had such a full life that in a very real sense was bookended by heroism.

“Firstly, through his service in the Second World War when Britain was facing her darkest hour of the last century and now in the way that he brought the nation together and inspired us in the dark days of Covid.”

He added: “Clearly his life was one of the values system and it was driven by helping others, his loving family and his service to the country.

“At an age when many of us would have surrendered to old age, in the days of Covid he took up his walking frame to do his little bit.

“His little bit turned into an absolutely gargantuan amount.”