Steelworker's fundraiser is 'fight against sepsis'

A steelworker who has walked from Scunthorpe to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to raise awareness of sepsis said he hopes his fundraiser will "change someone's life".

Jordan Wharton started his expedition on 29 June after losing both his grandfather Robert Brown and best friend Josh Catterall to the illness in 2016.

The 29-year-old mobile plant driver said the 170-mile (270km) challenge, culminating with a mountain climb on Sunday, was "incredible and emotionally tough".

"It's emotional, not just for me but for everybody. When I get to the top with my brother, it's going to be monumental and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life," said the British Steel worker.

Mr Wharton, from Scunthorpe, said his £11,000-target fundraiser was "a fight against sepsis" after he felt "destroyed" by the deaths of his grandfather and best friend.

"Josh was my best mate. We did everything together. He was my right hand man. It went from talking to him one night to the next day him not being here but in hospital, fighting for his life. It was very hard.

"It pretty much destroyed me.

"When my grandad died, it just didn't affect me, it affected my whole family. He was the main man in the family.

"I'm not one to talk about it, but it has been really hard."

Recently, his colleagues had also suffered with sepsis including his brother's friend who fell ill after being taken to hospital with pneumonia while on holiday in Ibiza, Mr Wharton said.

His fundraising challenge had put him "back on track" after years of not knowing what to do following their deaths.

"Raising money for charities has sort of got me back to where I want to be, rather than wasting my time at the pub and doing silly things."

Despite the uncertainty of his future prospects at British Steel, Mr Wharton was in two minds over whether he would be able to finance "such a big task", but said the UK government taking control of the Chinese-owned company was a "big relief".

He started his expedition as a solo traveller and said the heat on some days made it tough, walking between eight and 11 hours with a "25kg rucksack on my back". However, he was joined by his younger brother Sam on Thursday.

"It's been really hard, not just physically - I can deal with pain - but emotionally. When you're walking on your own, you seem to get in your own thoughts and stuff.

"But it's the good memories that got me through and every donation that pops up every five minutes, it just inspires me to keep going."

Fighting back tears, Mr Wharton said his four-year-old son had given him a Spiderman figurine, which he had promised to take to mark the moment he completed his climb.

The father-of-two said he was thankful for the huge support he had received from family, friends and colleagues, as well as those he had met on his trip.

"It's been eye-opening," said Mr Wharton.

"I've had nothing but love off everyone, and this is doing something good. So, if I can help one person change their life, I've done something good."

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