A DAD from Dyfryn Ardudwy who donated a kidney to his eldest daughter has raised £1,300 for the people that supported his family.

Gareth Charlton, a 46-year-old father-of-two, raised the money by walking 78 miles in three days.

His daughter, Jennie was diagnosed with renal failure in February 2017, shortly before her 18th birthday. Two years later, Gareth donated one of his kidneys to her.

She was on dialysis for two years but a kidney donor could not be found for her and she had to put her A-level studies at college in

Pwllheli on hold for two years.

Both Gareth and his wife Helen were tested to see if they could donate a kidney to their daughter. Gareth was a match, and the transplant surgery was carried out at The Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Gareth’s family received support from the hospital, Kidney Wales and the Gwynedd Kidney patients association, and he was determined to give something back to both charities and the hospital.

“To celebrate the second anniversary of the transplant I wanted to walk from the Ysbyty Gwynedd Renal unit to The Royal Liverpool Hospital,” he said. “This is following on from my first anniversary walk from the Dialysis unit at Ysbyty Alltwen in Porthmadog to Ysbyty Gwynedd Renal unit. I also completed a Snowdon By Starlight challenge just six months after surgery.

“Thanks to everyone who donated. As well as raising money, my other objective is to raise awareness of the importance of making your donation wishes known to your loved ones so if the unthinkable does happen they know what you would have wanted.”

Of the walk, he said: “Everyone asks about the weather! It was lovely until I got into Liverpool where I did the last mile in the rain.

Other than that it was mostly a brilliant experience, the North Wales coast is stunning and I met some lovely supportive people. There were some tough moments, like the end of day one; 30-plus miles in and my feet were struggling.

“Crossing the finish line outside the Royal Liverpool Hospital with their charity team cheering in the rain was fantastic though.

“I said I was done with challenges after this but I’ve just signed up to the Cardiff 10K next September!”To donate to Gareth's fundraising page, visit https://www.sponsorme.co.uk/garethcharlton/gareths-great-big-kidney-donation-walk.aspx