A 99 year-old World War Two veteran has raised over £1 million for the NHS by walking around his garden.

Captain Tom Moore originally aimed to raise £1,000 for the health service's NHS Charities Together to thank the 'magnificent' staff who treated him for cancer and a broken hip.

He is aiming to walk 100 laps of the garden at his Bedfordshire home, a distance of 1.8 miles, before April 30 - his 100th birthday.

He said when he hit half a million pounds: "I thank the British public from the bottom of my heart. Who would have thought that when I set a target of £1,000 a week ago, it could have reached £500,000?"

More than 24,000 people have donated to Cpt Moore's JustGiving page and he has been sent messages from an array of famous faces including Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood, singer Jason Donavon and Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke.

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan also donated £10,000.

He has already completed 70 laps of the 25 metre loop and is pacing himself by walking them in 10-lap chunks.

He is currently ahead of schedule and looks as though he will complete 100 by Thursday.

Tommy Moore was born in West Yorkshire in 1920 and was a civil engineer before enlisting in the army during WW2. He rose to the rank of captain and served in India and Burma.

His daughter Hannah said he was in 'stunned silence' when he reached half a million pounds.

"We are completely floored by the amount of support flooding in - it's just incredible and he is smashing his target.

"We say he needs a rest but he says that so long as he is slow and steady, he will reach it."

Cpt Moore did have a 100th birthday party planned but it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. 

He has been inundated with requests to send him birthday cards from the public and his daughter Hannah shared an address on Twitter so people could send them.

She wrote: "Evening - thanks so much for all your kind messages of support. My father, Captain Tom Moore is celebrating his 100th birthday on 30th April, and some of you have asked for the address to send cards to. Please see below. Thanks so much, Hannah."