THIS time last year, Cameron McCulloch was so fat he struggled to walk more than 30 yards.

Now he is planning to walk the entire length of both The Ridgeway and Hadrian's Wall in 12 days.

They 48-year-old from Wantage is trekking 170 miles to raise £10,000 for a health education charity.

He hopes his donation could help prevent others from experiencing serious problems because of their weight.

In 2001, Wantage-born Mr McCulloch, a former pupil at King Alfred's in the town, was pursuing a successful career in motor sales and was a regular at the gym, where he built himself up to 17 stone "of solid muscle".

But one day, while doing sit-ups in the gym at Wantage Leisure Centre, something went wrong. He said: "I got down on the floor, did my first and second sit-up fine, then, after the third one, I sat up and couldn't get back down."

A disc had gone out of place in his spine.

He was taken home to recover and didn't return to the gym for 15 years.

He gave up bodybuilding, but carried on going to work as normal for the next seven years, before suffering a nervous breakdown in 2008.

He added: "It was the year after my father had died, and I found myself to be the victim of some workplace bullying.

"I cannot abide bullies – I was bullied at school and I think there is no room in this society for people to be bullies."

All this person had said was "don't make an enemy of me", but Mr McCulloch said: "For some reason it ate away at me until I pretty much had a nervous breakdown.

Mr McCulloch said he turned into "25 stone of blubber".

He stopped working and ended up on disability living allowance before low self-esteem led to serious mental health problems.

In March last year he had bariatric surgery to restrict the size of his stomach and in the 12 months since he has shed nine stone, taking him down to 16 stone.

He started exercising again and is training three or four times every week, while planning to set up his own business as a handyman.

Mr McCulloch has also set himself a new fitness challenge . On June 6 he will start walking from Ivinghoe Beacon just east of Aylesbury and, over six days, walk the entire 87 miles of Britain's oldest road to Avebury.

He will go home for one night, then, the next day, drive to Bowness-on-Solway, near Carlisle in Cumbria, to begin walking the length of Hadrian's Wall – another 83 miles.

He is doing the whole thing to raise £10,000 for HENRY – Health Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young – a charity which aims to protect children from becoming obese.

Sponsor the walks online and find out more at justgiving.com/Cameron-McCulloch