Sheffield D-Day veteran, aged 93, braves fire and glass walk for charity

Graham Bell was just a teenager when he took part in the largest ever amphibious invasion, which helped liberate Nazi-occupied Europe, 75 years ago.

As one of the many heroes of that longest of days, the former steelworker from Handsworth would have been more than entitled to put his feet up in his retirement.

But, not one for the quiet life, he has dedicated over 30 years to raising money for various good causes by taking on numerous challenges which included running the Sheffield 10K aged 88.

His latest mission was a fire and glass walk, which involved crossing 20 feet of embers burning at 1,236 degrees Fahrenheit before putting his feet to the test again on shards of broken glass.

The Sheffield United fan completed the walk on Sunday at Hillsborough Arena in aid of Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind (SRSB).

“It was a great event – it’s always nice to hear the crowd cheering you on. Apparently, I am the oldest participant!” he said.

“I have a lot of partially sighted friends who I get on with really well. I feel very sympathetic and am now having problems with my own eyes, so it makes me even more determined to raise money for SRSB.”

Graham was one of 60 people taking part in the sponsored walk, who between them raised more than £5,000 for a number of charities.