Editor's comment: Ground control to Captain Tom, planet Earth is NHS blue and it's all thanks to you

We reported the heartwarming fundraising effort of the Second World War veteran from Marston Moretaine first last Tuesday.But little could we or anyone have foreseen what was to come.

Captain Tom pledged to walk 100 lengths of his 50 metre-long garden and donate 100 per cent of the funds raised to NHS.

He had - we were told - been inspired by the treatment he received from the NHS after breaking his hip and for skin cancer.

A modest fundraising target of £1,000 was set. On publishing the article we put a link in to the Just Giving page and as we do with all of our stories pushed it out on social media appealing for people to give what they could afford.

Given our small team and the deluge of important news we are dealing with across multiple titles during this crisis we moved on to the next story.

What happened next changed everything.

Before we knew it Tom had smashed his target which kept being revised upwards. But the money kept coming until the target of £500,000 was left for dust.

Today we sit here watching the total climb towards £19million - nearly 4000% above the target.

But while that money will do so much for our brave NHS workers in these uncertain times, this has not been about targets and money. It hasn't been about people taking pity on an elderly man either, far from it.

This has been the story of the pandemic, the light in the dark of lockdown.

People wanted to help raise money for the NHS but were restricted in how they could go about it. They wanted to give but many didn't know how, or perhaps the best way to do it to ensure it went to our frontline workers.

They latched onto Captain Tom because he stands for everything that is great not just about Britain, but humanity.

We have all seen that this global health crisis has brought out the best and the worst in people and society.

But for every selfish toilet roll hoarder, every cold-hearted shop keeper out for a fast buck on hand sanitiser or every person flouting strict lockdown rules there is a Captain Tom out there.

We were lucky enough to tell his story first. That's all we did. And Tom did the rest.

There is a petition for Captain Tom to be knighted - read full story here. It already has nearly 600,000 signatures at the time I write this and will breeze the 1million needed.

The former civil engineer has even had a poem dedicated to him - read full story here.

And now a brilliant cartoon which depicts Captain Tom as a secret Superman has gone viral on social media, being described by one Premier League footballer as 'powerful' - read full story here.

Captain Tom has resonated with the British public like no celebrity, politician or scientist ever could. With people like Tom around COVID-19 doesn't stand a chance.

He is a reminder that amidst all the gloom there is good. And there is hope.

Many people can look back on life like a video game score and say they have done well.

Not many can say they've completed it.