CRICKET legend Ian Botham has thanked the people of Southampton for bowling him over with their support for his latest UK charity walk.

The former England Test star rolled into Southampton on October 15 as part of his 11th charity walk.

Generous supporters did the city proud, donating more than £2,500 on the day to the charities he was supporting - Leukaemia Research and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

"Beefy" walked 10 miles around Southampton as part of a tour of 17 UK cities in nine days, covering 200 miles on foot in total.

The challenge has so far helped him raise over half a million pounds for the two charities.

Father-of-three Botham said: "It was a great experience and it was wonderful to get out and about and meet supporters in Southampton. The backing I received was fantastic and the donations flooded in all day.

"Thanks to the generous donations of people in Southampton, teenagers and young adults with cancers can hopefully look forward to a better future."

Botham, arguably England cricket's greatest all-rounder, has raised more than £8m for charity since 1985 by walking 6,500 miles in 10 previous hikes.

He said: "Back in 1977, I was taken to hospital for X-rays on a broken foot and that was when I saw a group of children who I learnt were dying from leukaemia. That's what led to my first charity walk in 1985 - from John O'Groats to Land's End - and the rest snowballed from there."