A born again Christian arrived in Colchester after carrying a 6ft cross for almost 100 miles.

Lindsay Hamon, who has been walking all over the world with the cross since 1987, finished his walk at Colchester Castle on Friday evening.

He had travelled from the outskirts of London, through Brentwood, Chelmsford, Steeple Bumpstead, and Halstead over seven days.

He had been hoping to visit Braintree but had to rest for two days due to blisters.

On Saturday he walked a further 13 miles from Colchester to Brightlingsea to join his friend Rev Roger Taylor at the Brightlingsea Baptist Church for a mission event.

The pair first met through a boys brigade club in Oxfordshire in the 1960s and have kept in touch ever since.

Mr Hamon, 62, who lives in Cornwall, said: “I haven’t seen this guy for 15 to 20 years, I’m really thrilled to be in his neck of the woods.

“He knows I carry the cross and wondered if I would carry it in this area.

“People keep stopping me, asking if I can bring the cross in places such as pubs, it is so incredible the effect of the cross.”

He said people in Essex have been very welcoming and offered him cups of tea along the route.

Mr Taylor added: “He is a very determined character.

“It is brilliant, it is great for both of us that 48 years after meeting we actually have a chance to work together all these years later.”