FRANKFURT, June 9: With only one blister to show for his troubles, the father of an England soccer fan who died last year of leukaemia arrived in Frankfurt on Friday after a fund-raising walk from London.

Tim Reeve, 23, died in December last year, missing out on his dream to travel to Germany to support the England team at the World Cup.

Instead, his father John walked the 500 miles (800 km) to Germany to raise money for research into leukaemia. He left London's Wembley stadium on May 13 and will finish the walk later on Friday at the gates of the Frankfurt stadium.

“It's a real kind of emotional roller-coaster,” he said over the singing and chanting of thousands of England fans.

“There is a sense of achievement and the atmosphere is tremendous but at the same time there was a lot of sadness and tears for Tim. I was so determined to get here.”

The campaign, Walking To The World Cup, has been sponsored by the English Football Association, Premier League clubs Arsenal, Charlton and West Ham and England striker Peter Crouch.

Reeve has raised over 30,000 pounds ($55,300) and was still collecting from England fans on Friday.—Reuters