STEVE Carr’s mission from one end of the country to another is nearing an end as he presses on northwards.

Walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise awareness of homelessness and mental health issues, Steve is rapidly closing in on the most north-easterly point of the British Isles.

When he spoke to The Adver this afternoon he was nearing Helmsdale in the far-flung north-eastern reaches of Scotland – placing him just 50 miles away from his finish line. He began his journey in February with just £100 to his name and a tent strapped to his rucksack.

Steve has been personally affected by mental health issues and homelessness, which he has now overcome and wants to use his experiences to raise awareness and encourage positivity in others.

He was due to arrive in to John O’Groats on Sunday, but has been making such swift progress - despite the wind that was battering him on Wednesday afternoon - he now expects to complete his journey on Friday.

The route – which is 874 miles by the shortest road routes – has seen him take a number of detours – notably coming inland to Swindon earlier this year where he spent the night at Swindon Fire Station after the fire crew organised a slap-up curry dinner for him.

Las week though – as he was making his way along the West Highland Way towards Fort William – he was whisked back down to Manchester where he was asked to speak at Business Rocks 2016.

He formed part of the panel for their Hackathon which was looking at how technology can help reduce homelessness. The event gained global coverage and has put Steve in touch with some very influential people including Apply Co-Founder Steve Wozniak.

But perhaps most touchingly, whilst in Manchester Steve turned another year older, and celebrated his 40th birthday. Embodying what his end-to-end mission was all about, he marked the day in Tent City, enjoying a pizza feast with the homeless people there, thanks to a donation from Pizza Hut.

He explained that it had been a difficult day, and slightly moving.

He said: “There are people out there that really need help, some people can’t or won’t reach out for that help. But nobody should be on the street and nobody should be made to feel that way.”

He added that he was feeling very positive about the future of his new venture, Mindcanyon, which he has registered as a limited company whilst on the walk and will apply to change it to a community interest company on his return. He has built up a team of volunteers to form Mindcanyon and plans on offering them all permanent jobs within the company.

Steve intends for Mindcanyon to be a one stop online portal for everything to do with homelessness and mental health, connecting people with the necessary organisations all over the country.

You can follow Steve’s journey on his website - www.mindcanyon.com - where you can also find a link to support his fundraising efforts.