A man is walking around the coast of England and Wales in memory of his Aberystwyth University graduate wife who died of cervical cancer at the age of 53.

Laurence Carter, a director at the World Bank, is working with Cancer Research UK to highlight the importance of cervical screening and HPV vaccinations, and aims to raise £200,000 to fund research into why a large percentage of women don’t attend smear tests.

Mr Carter reached Ceredigion on his epic 3,500-mile journey last week, visiting the Ship Inn in Llangrannog.

Mr Carter’s wife Melitta Alevropoulos studied agricultural economics at Aberystwyth in the early ’80s, working on nearby sheep farms.

The couple met in the Ministry of Agriculture in the southern African country of Malawi.

“She was the love of my life, she was the sort of person who made stuff happen, she was not happy with the way the world is,” Mr Carter said.

“She cared about living things and the environment. And she took action.

“For example, she instituted an annual Earth Day clean up in the neighbourhood where we lived, about 10 years ago.

“We were lucky. We lived in several countries in Africa and the island of St Helena before moving to Washington DC. We were blessed with three children.

“It was a dream until one day, in 2012, I came home from work and Melitta said to me: ‘Bad news, I went for my smear test and the doctor says I need an emergency hysterectomy.’

“She had the operation, went through chemo, radiation and then, a few months later I got a call from her.

“I was travelling for work, in East Timor, on the other side of the world.

“I was sitting in an office, working, when Melitta called and told me: ‘Bad news, the cancer has metastasised; they say I have 12 to 18 months to live’.

“Her voice was so far away, I couldn’t see her face, I couldn’t reach out and touch her hand, I couldn’t tell her it would be alright, I couldn’t make her smile.

"I sat down and cried.

“She died two years later, in the living room, surrounded by her family.

“That morning she had smiled for the last time.

“She was just 53 years old.

“The tragedy is it doesn’t have to be this way, cervical cancer is the first cancer which can be eliminated, through HPV vaccination and good screening.

“Progress has been dramatic in the past few years.

“The main barrier is awareness.

“I’m delighted that Cancer Research UK is funding support into ways to spread awareness about the importance of vaccination and screening.”

Mr Carter’s journey will last a year, walking around 12 miles each day.

He started near Brighton in June.

For more information on Mr Carter's journey, and to donate, visit www.3500toendit.com.