Captain Sir Tom Moore sculptor in race to find £9,000 needed to complete the statue

Artist Andrian Melka works on his Captain Sir Tom Moore sculpture at his studio near York. Picture : Jonathan Gawthorpe

A sculptor’s pledge to honour Yorkshire-born Captain Sir Tom Moore in bronze is drawing close to fruition with just days remaining to raise a final £9,000.

The Second World War veteran, who died in February after raising nearly £33m for the NHS, inspired countless people nationwide with his determination and spirit.

Sculptor Andrian Melka, who has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a fitting tribute to Sir Tom to be placed at Leeds’ Chapel Allerton Hospital, is working on the bronze statue.

The 6ft sculpture is aimed at inspiring rehabilitation patients, staff and visitors at the hospital to keep “putting one front in front of the other” as a reminder of what can be achieved.

More than £19,000 has already been pledged in donations from well-wishers to the campaign, which has until April 11 to raise £28,500. The statue will portray the 100-year-old fundraiser, who was born in Keighley, giving the thumbs-up as he completed laps of his Bedfordshire garden.

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“He was a ray of hope at a time when everybody was quite down,” said Mr Melka. “It showed that anything can be done if you carry on forward.”

Mr Melka’s fundraising page can be found online at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/creating-a-bronze-statue-of-captain-sir-tom-moore