A RETIRED naval captain has helped to raise more than £1,500 for Clydebank Sea Cadets.

Peter Adams took part in this year’s virtual Kiltwalk along with his wife to raise funds for the charity.

Along with fellow members Sami and Hannah, from Clydebank, the two teams collectively raised £1,800 for the organisation, which has been unable to operate as normal during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Peter told the Post: “The unit has been closed for indoor work since March 2020 and the Sea Cadets have lost a lot of income.

“The charity works to boost life opportunities for young people and get them into employment, improve attendance at school, and get them engaged within the community.

“The unit itself is self-funded and we have to go and either collect in supermarkets, which we can’t do at present, or do fund-raising through events such as the Kiltwalk.

“The money will allow more children from Clydebank to join the Sea Cadets and it will allow us to keep the subscription fees we charge despite the annual losses we have made.

“We don’t want to charge a fortune because we want as many young people as possible to access the Sea Cadets.”

For the second year running the organisers of the Kiltwalk were forced to scrap plans to hold the event in its usual format – which until 2019 saw walkers in the west of Scotland cover some or all of the distance from Glasgow city centre to Loch Lomond – because of Covid restrictions.

But members of the public were encouraged to take part by holding fund-raising walks on their own or with family members.

Peter, who now lives in Livingston, said the money raised from the Kiltwalk will help to inspire the next generation of youngsters.

He added: “We use the nautical side of the cadets to develop skills such as teamwork and leadership skills, as well as physical and mental resilience.

“Children have been isolated throughout the pandemic and they haven’t been able to come to the Sea Cadets and make friends.

“It shows that if you work hard, if you uphold high standards, and if you are reliable people will be more likely to employ you.

“Qualifications are a great asset to have but the rest is down to your personality, and we put a focus on developing that.”