Birmingham radio station BRMB has handed over a cheque for more than £330,000 from its massive fundraising event to help wounded soldiers.
The Walkathon in June raised money for a special unit at the city's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The ‘Home For The Brave’ will be part of the healing process enabling solders and their families to adjust to the traumatic impact of injuries sustained in battle.
Around 8,000 people took to the streets to walk 26 miles round the Birmingham outer circle bus route in the summer, with the final amount raised of £333,454 one of the largest ever charitable totals raised by a single commercial radio station.
The cheque was presented by pop band McFly on Saturday at the 'brmb Live 2010' show at the LG arena at the NEC in Birmingham. An individual member of each of the armed forces was present to receive the cheque – for the navy Leading Naval Nurse Andy Sutherland, Corporal Liz Camp for the RAF and Corporal Steve Owen for the Army.
Singer James Blunt was also on the bill and took part in the cheque presentation event. James who served as an army officer in Kosovo expressed his admiration for the thousands who had raised this cash and said: "These guys who have been injured have seen their lives change irreparably but they are our service men and women who have given all their energies and focus to bringing peace and security to someone else’s country. Your listeners have done an incredible thing."
Phil Riley, Chief Executive of BRMB owners Orion Media, told RadioToday.co.uk: "We were all emotional at the end of the Walkathon but to see this amount of money coming in for such a noble cause has been overwhelming. All we can do is thank the listeners because it is through their efforts that this extraordinary amount of money has been raised."