Royal honour for 100-year-old WW2 veteran

A 100-year-old army veteran who has walked more than 45,000 laps of his bungalow for charity is the oldest recipient of King's Birthday Honours this year.

L/Cpl Harold Jones, who will turn 101 next month, raised £47,210 for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research after three friends died from the disease.

Mr Jones, from Sutton Coldfield, received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his efforts - which he began in March 2020.

He said was inspired by the late Capt Sir Tom Moore to take up the laps, during which he has covered more than 700 miles.

Since lockdown, the World War Two veteran said he walked 721 miles from doing 45,370 laps around the back of his bungalow.

"There's far more people than me behind the BEM," he told the BBC.

"I'm fortunate and well blessed with reasonably good health - that's been the source for the money I've raised.

"I've lost three very good friends with MND. At the beginning of covid I started walking and I dedicated it to them.

"I thought I might get a thousand walks around the bungalow where I live - and since then I've done 45,370."

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