One-legged ex-soldier to run 'triathlon for heroes'

A FORMER soldier who lost a leg in a car accident is to embark on a triathlon trip across the English Channel and the length of Britain this summer.

Billy Strathdee, 46, plans to swim from France to Dover on July 8. He will then ride to Grangemouth within a week, and finally run some 300 miles to John O'Groats.

Mr Strathdee, who works for Edinburgh's Lady Haig's Poppy Factory from his home in East Lothian, is completing the challenge to raise money for Poppy Scotland. The former private with the King's Own Scottish Borderers lost his leg in 1993 in a road accident while on leave.

He said: "A subject close to my heart, and that of a lot of British people, is our servicemen and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with horrendous injuries. It would be great to be able to say thank you to these incredibly brave men and women who have made these sacrifices for our country. This is why I want to raise as much money as possible for them and their families by doing this triathlon for these heroes."

To sponsor, visit www.justgiving.com/billy-strathdee.