A retired school principal inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore has clocked up 700,000 steps to raise money for a Norfolk hospital.

Yvonne Bridger, from Hunstanton, asked friends to sponsor her daily exercise when she began her quest for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn as it snowed on February 7.

And it was just as cold on Tuesday, as she climbed the steps at The Spinney and reached her target after completing an average of 10,000 steps a day.

Eastern Daily Press: Yvonne Bridger pictured with her husband John after she reached her target of walking 700,000 steps to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's LynnYvonne Bridger pictured with her husband John after she reached her target of walking 700,000 steps to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn (Image: Chris Bishop)

"I didn't find the walking hard," she said. "I am used to being active and in between the various lockdowns last year, I was doing seven fitness classes per week at Oasis. But my body definitely felt tired yesterday, I am more than sure that Captain Sir Tom must have felt tired on some of the days he was walking, so I just kept going.

Captain Sir Tom Moore set out to walk 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire for his 100th birthday in April 2020 and raise £1,000 for the NHS. His challenge captured the mood of the nation and the Second World War veteran ended up raising almost £40m.

Capt Tom also recorded a version of You'll Never Walk Alone which topped the singles charts and was personally knighted by the Queen in recognition of his efforts before he passed away in February after testing positive for Covid.

Mrs Bridger, 69, said "My challenge has had a dual focus - it has been a positive and heathy thing to do in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore and his epic achievements in the 100th year of his life and it has raised money for the Covid-19 support fund at the QEH. It gave me something concrete on which to focus my time and energies during lockdown.

So far, donations from friends have helped her to raise £1,831. She added: "The challenges of fund-raising during lockdown have been considerable, given that we cannot hold public events, and I will be pleased with whatever will be the final total to hand over to the QEH."

Mrs Bridger's GoFundme appeal is continuing until the end of April. To donate, go to https://tinyurl.com/p7pay8u8.