AN 11-year-old boy braved the elements and the blisters to help hundreds of struggling Glaswegians.

Rob Dunbar, from Hyndland, walked almost 80 miles with his scout group to raise cash for Govan-based charity Starter Packs.

The youngster, whose dad Gavin manages the charity's two shops on Burleigh Street, walked 127km between Fort William and Inverness with the 1st Glasgow Scout group over the summer.

The £645 he raised was used to buy more than 800 items to be included in the supplies Starter Packs give out to people all over Glasgow.

Packs are given out to residents who cannot afford to kit out their homes themselves, and who have been referred from housing associations across the city.

His fundraising helped charity bosses buy 822 items, including 87 bars of soap, 42 face cloths, 2 duvets, 19 sets of bed sheets, 80 kitchen utensils and 36 toilet rolls which were sent out to help residents in their new homes.

Rob said: “It was very hard and after six days I was tired, I wanted to go home but I got over it. We got up about 7, left at half 8 and started walking.

“It was raining, we slept in tents most of the time.

“I wanted to raise money because I felt it was useless doing it for nothing...Walking 127km is a long way to go just to get blisters.

“I've not seen many people donating money to starter packs, they usually donate to bigger charities so I wanted to do something to help.

“I feel very good that the money has helped so many people. When I saw all the stuff they bought I felt like crying, as this is the first time I've really done something like this for charity.”

Dad Gavin said: “We helped him get set up with a fundraising page and loads of people got involved. It was a 127km walk, he had never done anything quite that long before.

“He decided he would try to use the opportunity to raise some money and raise the profile of starter packs.

“There's been a few times where I've gone out with the driver to take packs out and he's come too, so he's seen what the actual purpose of the charity is as well as what the shops do.

“We're really proud of him.”