A MAN paid an emotional visit to the house his wife grew up in after a charity trek in her memory.

John Collins, 67, stopped at Salisbury Road, Grays, following his 216-mile trip which finished in Gravesend. His wife Maggie lived in the road when the pair met in 1968.

Maggie died last year at the age of 66 after suffering with lung cancer. In her memory, John walked the Thames Path and has so far raised £2,400 for Cancer Research.

John and Maggie are no strangers to the Gazette, having featured on the front page in August 1970 when a “fairy godmother” provided a wedding dress for their big day when Maggie left her original on the train!

John was back in Grays in the week of what would’ve been his wife’s 67th birthday.

His adventure started on April 11 in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, and finished in Gravesend on May 6.

John, of Thorringhton, near Colchester, said: “I’ve always enjoyed the River Thames, and I was inspired to do this by my friend who works for the Environment Agency. He put the idea in my head and said if you’re going to walk the route do it for Cancer Research.”

John added: “It’s been wonderful. The generosity I have received from people along the way has been brilliant.”

To donate to John’s cause, visit justgiving.com/John-Collins17