More than £14,000 raised in memory of Weymouth Marine James Wright

Children, adults, people in wheelchairs and even dogs took part in the eight day, 180-mile challenge and have made more than £14,000 for the Royal Marines Charitable Trust so far.

They reached Portland Naval Cemetery – where Marine Wright is buried – a year to the day after he was killed in action in Afghanistan.

The group had walked along the South West Coast Path, starting at Bickleigh Barracks, home of 42 Commando – Marine Wright’s regiment – in Plymouth.

Family members came from as far as Canada, France and Ireland to take part.

Walkers camped along the way, but trekked more than 22 miles on the first day alone.

Marine Wright’s dad Dave said: “It’s nice that we’ve had so much support.

“We will keep on raising money for the Royal Marines Charitable Trust.

“When James died, the Royal Marines Charity was there.

“They got our family together, they just said: ‘Get on the plane, don’t even think about the cost.’ “We’ve had people join in all the way along – we stopped at the Dorothy Inn, Weymouth for a drink and picked up a few people there.

“This whole walk is really all down to Shelley, James’s girlfriend, who organised it.

“It’s taken a lot of planning.”

Marine Wright’s mum, Sallie, said: “A lot of James’s friends have taken part – my sisters have flown all the way from Canada and Ireland.”

Wearing ‘Journey For James’ T-shirts, walkers were welcomed to their finish by James’s grandparents, relatives and friends.

Marine Wright was 22-years-old and four months into his tour of Afghanistan when he was killed.

His girlfriend Shelley Roberston was pregnant with their daughter Lily Marie Wright, who is now eight months old, at the time.

Miss Robertson, who organised the walk with her cousin, said: “We started off with 32 walkers, including children – we ended up with about 95.

“We’ve had so much support, people joining in every step of the way.”

To donate, visit justgiving.com/journey-for-james