Chelsea Pensioner Rick Graham, 74, dies suddenly on charity walk in Spain as heartbroken family pay tribute

A CHELSEA pensioner has died aged 74, after suffering a heart attack during a charity walk in Spain.

Ex-soldier Rick Graham, 74, started feeling unwell while walking the Camino de Santiago near Pamplona.

The former Warrant Officer Class 1 in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, served as a UN Peacekeeper in Cyprus and on four tours in Northern Ireland during the Troubles during his 22-year military career.

He joined The Royal Hospital in Chelsea in 2015 following his father's footsteps where he was a popular character and a keen painter.

He was also a supporter of the local football team.

His devastated daughter Alison, said: "My dad was a funny character, very proud of his family and his Chelsea pensioner roots.

"I take solace knowing that he died doing what he loved - travelling."

Paying tribute, the Governor of the Royal Hospital, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, said: "Rick demonstrated a selfless attitude and outlook on life, and was often keen to raise money for people less fortunate than himself and it was while he was in Spain undertaking a sponsored walk that he died."

Rick was raising funds for several charities when he died last month.

The Camino de Santiago, known as The Way of St James, is a network of routes that serve as a pilgrimage to the shrine of the apostle St James in the Santiago cathedral.

The Santiago de Compostela is in Galicia, a northwestern region of Spain where it is said the remains of the saint still lie.

It comes after another Brit died suddenly after climbing 842 steps up a mountain trail to visit a clifftop village in Italy.

The holidaymaker, 76, collapsed in front of hundreds of other tourists after he suffered a suspected heart attack while climbing the steep trail on Mount Portofino.