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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Ellie Kendall

Police officer walks 17 miles barefoot in just his shorts for charity

A policeman walked from Cheddar Gorge to the Clifton Suspension Bridge wearing just a pair of shorts and no shoes for a mental health charity.

PC Shane Jones, a dog handler with Avon and Somerset Police, completed the 17-mile walk barefoot, despite torrential rain and 20mph winds. He undertook the challenge to encourage people to talk about mental health and to raise money for Mind, all because of the number of times he and police dog Delta are called to search for people who have gone missing while experiencing poor mental health.

Delta even joined him for the first leg of his walk at 9am yesterday (Sunday, February 13). Several hours and 46,200 steps later, Shane reached Clifton.

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He said: "The whole idea of doing something so outlandish was to get people talking and I think it's definitely done that. Lots of people knew what I was doing and stopped to clap.

"When I got on top of the Mendips the rain was coming in sideways and I ran half a mile just to get out of it. It's the first time I've really 'felt the cold in my bones' as they say.

PC Shane Jones at the end of his walk from Cheddar Gorge to Clifton Suspension Bridge (Avon and Somerset Police)

"The support around me kept me going. I'm so grateful to all the people who cheered me on and contributed to the fundraiser.

"I'd like to give a massive thank you to the family, friends and colleagues who looked after me - bringing me a hot water bottle, blister plasters and bandages - and the pubs and householders who kept me topped up with hot water!

"I have two nasty blisters but I only had to wear my emergency flip flops for about a quarter of a mile, where there was a section of pavement with broken glass and all sorts and the road was too busy to walk in. Today is a day of putting my feet up and recovering!"

Shane has raised more than £5,000 for Mind through his trek, but most importantly he wants people to open up and talk to others when they're struggling.

He said: "You can't see mental health and we don't talk about it. We say we're 'fine' and keep a stiff upper lip, but while it can be hard to speak out people will listen and it does help."

Help and advice on mental health can be found on the Mind website here.

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