Son raises nearly £22,000 for Southampton Hospitals Charity by walking the Camino de Santiago trail from France to Spain in his late mother’s honour

A SON who walked the Camino de Santiago trail from France to Spain in his late mother’s memory has raised nearly £22,000 for a hospital charity.

Marcus De Luca had told how it was his mother Ros’s “dream” to complete the 500-mile pilgrimage pathway, which dates back to the beginning of the 9th century.

But she was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and died before she had the chance to undertake it.

Marcus decided he would complete it for her and raise money for Southampton Hospital which cared for Ros, from Lymington, so well.

For weeks he walked the pilgrimage path encountering “amazing” sights along the way and meeting many people from all over the world.

Marcus (54) from Brentford in Essex, said he had been “heartbroken” by his mother’s death but had been left “full of admiration” for the doctors, nurses and staff at the oncology unit which cared for her.

He said: “Throughout mum’s treatment they were professional, dedicated and, above all, kind and compassionate.

“Mum was always full of life and loved to do the unexpected. She was a beautiful woman with a big personality and sharp wit, always living life to the full.

“It was her dream to walk the Camino de Santiago trail, so I decided to walk it on mum’s behalf and raise money for the hospital along the way.”

Marcus started out on 15th August from France along the Camino Frances trail, which ends in Santiago de Compostela, hoping to compete the whole route in five weeks.

He managed to complete the route and was “overjoyed” to be able to hand over a cheque for £21,714 to hospital staff.

The money will now be used to buy equipment for the oncology unit at the hospital.