A blind veteran from East Sussex is currently preparing to embark on a three-day Iceland trek with Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for blind and vision-impaired ex-Service men, and The Not Forgotten Association.

Mark Threadgold, 49 and from Saltdean, was in the gym in the charity’s training and rehabilitation centre in Brighton when he first came across the challenge, which will begin on 31 August and has been arranged by The Not Forgotten Association.

A veteran from the Isle of Man is training to compete in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

John de Weert, 53 and originally from the Walthamstow, decided to sign up to the 13.1-mile challenge after reconnecting with old Army friends. He says: “It was largely down to Facebook really. Some friends I used to serve with got in touch and told me they’d be doing it. They wanted to know whether I’d be interested and so, after reading about the support the charity provides to veterans suffering vision-impairment, I got myself signed up.

A military charity that supports blind and vision-impaired ex-Service men and women is on the hunt for a team of volunteers in the Salisbury area to help generate local fundraising ideas and reach out to more veterans in the area.

Blind Veterans UK currently supports over 4,500 vision-impaired veterans, more than any time before in the charity’s history. It has set the ambitious target to double the number of veterans receiving its life changing support by 2022.