ONE of Britain's most famous charity fundraisers was in town yesterday for his latest stop on a 2,000 mile fundraising trek.

Mick Cullen, better known as Speedo Mick, was in Lyme Regis yesterday for the latest leg of his five month long, 2,000 mile journey around the UK and Ireland.

Mick was later spotted in Bridport on his way to Litton Cheney.

The Everton fan, who gained fame from hitting the country's streets wearing nothing but a pair of blue Speedos and some hiking boots, starting his latest campaign back in May.

The goal is to give small charities which have struggled throughout the pandemic a share of the £250,000 raised through his own charity, the SpeedoMick Foundation.

Before he embarked on the latest part of his journey, from Lyme Regis to Litton Cheney, Mick enjoyed a morning in Lyme, interacting with residents and taking a look at the Wonka filming which was taking place on the Cobb, making sure to request a bar of chocolate from the famed fictional chocolate maker.

He said: "I've had such a great day, the people have been fabulous. Everyone was so kind and donating plenty of funds and best of all I've seen plenty of smiling faces.

"Lyme Regis was great, it was beautiful. We had a little laugh at the Wonka set as well. It was really nice, I got took the pressure off myself as I'm usually always keen to get back before dark.

"The focus is on this walk is to give back to the community. Because of the pandemic small charities have been unable to fundraise for such a long time, so we wanted to support them."

Over the course of four months, Mick's journey has taken him from Stornoway in the Western Isles of Scotland, to Glasgow, across the Irish Sea to Belfast and making his way to Dublin, crossing back to North Wales, before heading down to Land's End and making his way from there to Lyme Regis.

He aims to be finished by December 15 so he can be back to Liverpool in time to spend Christmas with his family.

Around £140,000 has already been given out to 55 charities, with £110,000 remaining. Any local good causes or organisations which would like to apply for a grant can do so at www.thespeedomickfoundation.org.

The funds will be distributed to organisations which support mental health, young people or homeless people - all causes close to Mick's heart.

He said: "I've been homeless, I've been addicted to drugs and alcohol, and luckily I got the support I needed.

"It's so important for me to give back and give these young people the experiences and perspective they need to broaden their horizons and help them become the type of people they want to be.

"Using myself as an example, people can come back from these problems, they just need some help. I'm trying to set that example, I just happen to be doing it in my knickers."