When Captain Tommy Moore began his challenge of walking around his garden 100 times he wanted to raise £1,000 for the NHS.

Now the Second World War veteran has raised over £8 million for the health service's NHS Charities Together with an amazing £7.2 million added to the pot since yesterday morning.

And at one stage today his JustGiving page crashed when almost 100,000 people were trying to donate.

Cpt Moore, who served in India and Burma in WW2, is aiming to complete his challenge before his 100th birthday on April 30. 

He reacted to reaching £5 million on the BBC News this morning. He said: "Completely out of this world. Thank you so much for all you people who have subscribed to the National Health Service because for every penny that we get, they deserve every one of them."

His daughter Hannah spoke to BBC Radio Five Live this morning and said the amount went beyond all their 'wildest expectations'.

"It is only a week ago that we set a thousand pound target. We thought a thousand pounds was a real stretch, we stood with a TV crew on the Wednesday and we dreamt that we might hit £5,000 by the end of the month.

"We want to express our gratitude to the British public for getting behind Tom, for making this into a heartfelt story."

Due to the amount of money Cpt Moore has raised he is now classed as a national fundraiser. 

Chief Executive Officer of NHS Charities Together, Ellie Orton, explained what that meant on BBC Breakfast this morning.

"Funds that he's raising are going to be a part of NHS Charities Together Covid-19 urgent appeal. Those funds are doing three things, they're going straight to out frontline to support NHS staff, volunteers and patients impacted by Covid-19.

"They're also resourcing those vital care partnerships around the hospitals that enable patients to leave hospital quickly and safely, to remain out of hospital or to stay out of hospital.

"Then finally they will also be spent on the long term mental health recovery of NHS staff and their families who have been caring for Covid-19 patients."