A FORMER soldier who slept outdoors for a whole month to raise awareness of the challenges faced by homeless veterans has been praised by a local Royal British Legion (RBL) branch after raising more than £10,000 for the charity.

Ryan ‘Kermit’ Kemmett, from Cinderford, took on the RBL’s ‘Great Tommy Sleepout’ challenge in March, which encourages people to sleep outdoors for one night to raise funds and awareness for veterans experiencing homelessness.

But seasoned outdoorsman Kermit decided the one night wouldn’t be much of a challenge for him - so he opted to sleep out every night in March.

He initially set a target of raising £6,000 - £1 for each homeless veteran in the UK - but after completing the challenge, Kermit had surpassed that and then some, raising a huge total of £10,012.

And last week, he was invited to attend Longhope and District RBL’s May meeting, where he was congratulated on his success by branch Chairman Rob Greaves and honorary member Harold Gurney.

Kermit’s sleep out saw him spend the night in various locations, including the beer garden at the Red Lion in Huntley, outside Gloucester Cathedral and on grounds belonging to famous interior designer, Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, in the Cotswolds.

He told branch members at their meeting that some of the nights were “very cold, dark and sometimes wet”, but the conditions weren’t enough to deter him from completing the challenge.

Kermit says his challenges “were many” over the course of the month, including his car breaking down and his sleeping bag being too small, though on a positive note, he did manage to convince a friend to take on the challenge with him.

Prior to his first night under the stars, he explained: “The Great British Tommy Sleepout is being done by Royal British Legion Industries who are the ones who have the care homes and the factories to help veterans.

“Because I’m an outdoorsman, me doing one night is like paying a fisherman to go fishing – so I looked at (Amy) my wife and said I’ll do 31 nights.

“I’ve got to do it because there are 6,000 homeless veterans but I’m lucky because I’ve got the house, I’ve got my wife and the kids.”

Longhope RBL wished Kermit well as he now plans to continue supporting homeless veterans wherever he can.

Every pound raised from The Great Tommy Sleep Out goes towards supporting the UK’s most vulnerable veterans, by allowing RBLI to provide safe homes and the support they need “to get back on their feet.”

The funds help to provide essential supplies like hot meals, electrical kitchen items, fresh clothes and bedding, toiletries, PPE and support for training and employment.

The emergency accommodation provided by the RBLI, Mountbatten Pavilion, has seen “enormous benefit” from the funds and awareness raised.

This year, more than 11,000 people across the UK took on the challenge, sleeping outside for one night or more in tents, homemade shelters or beneath the stars.

And, with a total of 11.956 nights spent out under the stars, more than £350,000 has been raised from this year’s challenge alone - which is the biggest amount ever raised from a single RBL event.

For more information about The Great Tommy Sleep Out, go to www.rbli.co.uk/rbli-events/sleepout.