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Wounded soldier finishes London Marathon on crutches
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-10 15:53

Wounded soldier finishes London Marathon on crutches
Major Phil Packer reaches the halfway point of the London Marathon on May 2, 2009. [Agencies]
LONDON -- A soldier who was injured by a rocket attack in Iraq finished the London Marathon, two weeks after the race began.

Major Phil Packer was told he would never walk again after he lost the use of his legs during the attack in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in February 2008.

But the 36-year-old completed the course by walking two miles a day on crutches since the marathon started on April 26, and was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers who lined the final mile.

Packer raised 630,000 pounds for the Help For Heroes soldiers' charity, and is hoping to raise enough to reach the one-million-pound mark.

"I've walked 52,400 steps and somebody has walked with me every step of the way, be it a dinner lady, a London taxi driver or a Metropolitan Police officer," Packer said upon completing the marathon.

"I've had time to talk to people and have conversations, people have really opened up about their feelings about the (armed) services and it has been humbling."