A 99-year-old army veteran has raised more than six million pounds to help doctors and nurses on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19.

Captain Tom Moore, who turns 100 at the end of April, used to be based at Bovington.

Capt Moore served in the second world war, after being selected for officer training in 1940 and completing postings in India and Sumatra.

He returned to work as an instructor at an armoured fighting vehicle school in Bovington.

He has smashed his initial target of £1,000 and managed to raise over £6 million for the NHS.

Captain Moore has made a public statement thanking everyone who has donated to his fundraising efforts for the NHS.

What did he do to raise the money?

Captain Moore had aimed to complete 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden by Thursday, April 16, with the use of a walking frame.

He set up a Just Giving fundraising page, titled: “Captain Tom Moore’s 100th Birthday Walk for the NHS.”

The fundraising page explained that Captain Moore is aiming to walk a hundred lengths of his back garden, which is 25m in length, before he hits 100 years old at the end of the month.

People donating money to the page have left encouraging messages for Captain Moore.

One anonymous donor wrote: “You’re an inspiration Captain Moore. Thank you to all our key workers.”

Another wrote: “A hero helping heroes. Well done Captain Tom!”

At one point, donations were coming in so quickly that the Just Giving page crashed - it’s back up and running now.

An appearance on national television

Tom made an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, April 13, saying: “Who would have thought that when I set a target of £1,000 a week ago, it could have reached £500,000?”

Piers Morgan publicly donated £10,000 to Captain Moore’s efforts during his appearance on Monday’s show.

Captain Moore appeared again on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, April 14, and it was announced that his fundraising efforts had successfully brought in over £1 million.

Speaking on the show, Captain Moore added: “Piers and Susanna it is amazing and thank you Piers for your contribution yesterday. It was enormous, it was so kind of you.

“It’s marvellous for our doctors and nurses on the front line. In the last war it was soldiers in uniform on the front line.

“This time our army are the doctors and nurses uniforms. They’re doing such a marvelous job.

“Thank you very, very much. You are so kind. It’s such a benefit to so many people.

“You’re giving hope to the people finding it very difficult. We will survive this.”

Which charity is the money going towards?

The money raised by the fundraiser is going towards NHS Charities Together.

The money will be spent on much needed items, such as well-being packs for NHS staff, rest and recuperation rooms and electronic devices for patients to keep in touch with their loved ones.

Ellie Orton, chief executive of the charity that will receive the money from the fundraising, spoke to the BBC, saying: “I think I absolutely join the rest of the county in being truly inspired and profoundly humbled by Captain Tom and what he has achieved.

“Thank you for being an inspiration and a role model.”

The NHS Charities Together Twitter account also tweeted: “And he’s done it. War hero @captaintommoore has surpassed his new £1million target already! Keep going, Tom. How much more can you help him raise for our #COVID19 Urgent Appeal? #walkwithtom #NHS.”

How to donate to Captain Tom Moore’s campaign

If you want to donate to the campaign, you can do so by visiting the Just Giving page online here.

Just hit the ‘donate’ button and you’ll be taken to a page where you can choose the donation amount - you can choose from the pre-selected amounts of £10, £20, £30, £50 or £100, or alternatively you can enter a specific amount yourself.

The aim was to raise money before Tom turned 100 years old at the end of the month, so the campaign should remain open until then - there has been no word on when the campaign will officially end.