AN ALLEGED victim of child abuse at a former children's home in East Yorkshire has completed a 255-mile walk to London as he campaigns for a public inquiry into what happened at the school.

Darren Furness, 49, is one of 249 men who claim they were abused as boys at the now defunct St William’s Children’s Home, in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire.

Other campaigners joined him for part of the 'walk for justice' from Market Weighton to London, via York.

The walk, which began on August 4, took Mr Furness about six weeks.

Mr Furness, from Leeds, said: "We got quite good support on the way down from the public.

"I found the walk quite easy. The night time was a bit daunting, staying in a tent, but that was expected."

Mr Furness has sent a letter from himself and other victims to the Prime Minister Theresa May, which claims there is a lack of support for child abuse victims and calls for sentencing guidelines for child abuse to be reviewed.

Before the walk. Mr Furness launched a petition calling for a public inquiry into what happened at St William’s, and to find out what the police, social services and Home Office knew, if anything, about what was going on at the school.

It also calls for the charity status to be removed from the Diocese of Middlesbrough and the De La Salle Institute, the two Roman Catholic organisations which ran the children's home.

Mr Furness will hand the petition, which currently has about 45,000 signatures, to Downing Street next month.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Middlesbrough previously commented: “We condemn unreservedly any action which causes harm or distress to others.

"Abusive behaviour has absolutely no place in the Catholic Church, or anywhere in society, and is against everything we stand for. So far the courts have made judgements on eight civil claims, seven of which were unsuccessful. As there are ongoing legal proceedings in relation to these claims, it is not possible to comment further at this stage.”