Captain Tom Moore has been hailed as an “inspiration to us all” by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, after he initially set out to raise £10,000 ($12,500) for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic, and completed his 100th lap on his zimmer frame today.

The army veteran, who served in India and Burma, had reached £10 million ($12.5m) in donations the day before, writing on Twitter: “I’m speechless… This amount of money will help the #NHS beyond what we ever thought was imaginable.”

Donations have increased quickly over recent days, with him only passing £1m ($1.25m) in recent days.

Conducting the challenge with the aid of a walking frame, he set out to complete the 100 laps of the 25-meter loop in 10-lap sections, taking breaks in-between but completing it before his 100th birthday on April 30.

Hancock singled out Captain Moore’s achievements for particular praise during Wednesday’s Downing Street press conference.

He said: “I want to pay a special tribute today to Captain Tom Moore. Captain Tom, you’re an inspiration to us all, and we thank you.”

A JustGiving page which was set up last week states: “Cpt Tom Moore is walking 100 lengths of his garden for NHS Charities Together because our fantastic NHS workers are national heroes.”

After the army veteran reached £10 million, he took to his Twitter account and said: “Virtutis Fortuna Comes I want to thank all the people behind the scenes including @JustGiving, @BBCBreakfast and @GMB for being behind us from the start, and all the wonderful people donating!'

Inspired by Captain Moore, a schoolgirl has now started a campaign for children across the country to send him birthday cards for his 100th birthday on April 30.

Reegan Davies, 8, from Port Talbot, Wales, has set a target of making 1,500 virtual cards for the Army veteran.

“You can post them on any social media with the hashtag #makeacardfortom,” she said.

Mr Moore, who lives with his family in Bedfordshire, began to raise funds to thank the “magnificent” NHS staff who helped him with treatment for cancer and a broken hip.

You can send birthday cards to Captain Moore for his 100th birthday, by sending it to Captain Tom Moore, C/O Post Office Limited, 67 Bedford Road, Marston Moretaine, MK43 0LA, Bedfordshire, England.