TWO mates put their best foot forward to walk 80 miles to raise awareness of autism.

Craig Howells and Darren O’Sullivan decided to walk from Hay-on-Wye to Caldicot “because it seemed like a good distance”.

Craig was diagnosed with Asperger’s when he was in the reception class at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Chepstow.

He said: “I was diagnosed early and I’ve had good support and we did this to raise awareness and make people understand what autism really is and what it is like on a day-to-day basis.

“There are a lot of parents who might not know their child needs a diagnosis. I also wanted to make people aware that people with autism should never be left out.”

Craig and Darren, who is a personal trainer, have been friends since infants school and took three days to walk from Hay to the Castle Inn in Caldicot.

Along the way they had lots of encouragement and support – at the White Lion pub in Ross, where they were expecting to camp, the landlord gave them a bed for the night and a hot breakfast to send them on their way.

Craig, who is a member of Caldicot Male Voice Choir, said: “It was hard but I’m glad we did it.”

The walk was largely uneventful until they got within a few miles of the finish when first they were chased by cows and then had to dodge golf balls as they used a public footpath.

The walk has raised around £1,200 for the National Autistic Society and donations can be made by searching for craig-howells-10 on www.justgiving.com