Hardy group hiking from London to Wolverhampton in memory of daughter who died are just a day from the finishing line

The group set off from the capital on Thursday (January 2) and are due to arrive back in Wolverhampton this Tuesday (January 7), on what would have been Maria's 21st birthday.

The group's route began in Trafalgar Square in Central London and will end back in the Black Country. 

By the afternoon of their fourth day they had walked 64 miles and camped outside every night, battling through wind, rain and snow. 

The idea to do the challenge came from a chat Santino had with Maria about how he'd walk any distance to come and see her. She tragically died in November of 2021 after suffering a cardiac arrest and suddenly collapsing without notice.

Santino, who owns a gym in Bilston, said: "When Maria was here, we used to have a lot of banter and if something like EastEnders was on, I'd always tell her that I'd walk from London for her and I wouldn't use any transport to do it as that's how much I love her, and there'd be nothing holding me back. 

"When the date for her 21st was coming up, I was thinking about what I could do to mark it which would be significant and this idea kept banging around in my head, so I decided that's what I would do and when I told my wife, she gave me the thumbs up for it." 

After telling friends and colleagues about it, Santino said he was surprised by the response, with some of them putting their hands up to join him on the challenging trek. 

So Santino and pals Stefan Kalakari, Wayne Lacey, Dean Turner and Stefan Kolakovic hit the road. 

Speaking on the walk, he said: "It's been quite emotional up to now, it's not often you put your body through a test like this. 

"You're not eating enough even though you try, and when you do, your body rejects it because it wants easy things to digest. It's been very cold but people are really soldiering on, even through the blisters.

"We just had sanctuary at a local church for a couple of hours to dry up our shoes and socks and we'll be marching on until midnight tonight. 

"We've lost two walkers, they're heroes who did about eight hours of the 60 with injuries. Wayne injured both his legs and Dean blew his hamstring out, it was incredible to see how strong they were.

"The weather was harsh [on Saturday], I mistakenly bought a festival tent, not a winter one, so it is freezing - and I was up at 4am shouting at everyone to get going. 

"But when I jumped in their tent it was so much warmer so we got another couple of hours before setting off. 

"We have been educated enough to keep ourselves healthy and hydrated, we've also been having some vitamins for electrolytes and we're using high-carb gels to give us energy.

"Stef does not even have a raincoat and he's soldiering on, he's doing brilliant." 

His friend, Stef Kolakovic, 51, added: "The people we have met - from different countries and backgrounds - have all been brilliant and so courteous.

"Even on the train journey down when we were talking to people about what we were doing everyone was interested and were glad that we were spreading awareness, it's been really special."

The walk will raise much-needed funds for a number of charities, including CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), A Child of Mine, Compton Care and Wightwick Hall High School, where Maria had been at school at the time of her death.

Santino said: "This team has come out to suffer with me, sacrificing time with their families to support me and I'm just really appreciative for all of them, they're all like family to me."

"And in true Black Country spirit, we had a chap from Wolverhampton message us earlier today and he's been and dropped us all off some hot dogs and hot chocolates!"

Their fundraiser has  - so far - raised over £5,000, but will hopefully have increased by the time they finish. To donate, click here.