23 Jul 2025
Charity leaders described the latest fund-raising exploits of Phil Heckels, known as Hercule Van Wolfwinkle, as “epic”.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
An artist has raised almost £40,000 for a charity providing free veterinary care for pets of people experiencing homelessness.
Phil Heckels, better known as Hercule Van Wolfwinkle, covered more than 1,800 miles during an eight-day journey for StreetVet, which included 16 challenges in 15 locations across the UK.
The illustrator has been creating self-proclaimed “rubbish” drawings of pets since 2020 and used them to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.
His challenges included abseiling from Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, skydiving in Norwich, running a 5K in Cambridge while dressed as a dog, getting a tattoo of his signature underpants in Brighton and shaving his head using dog clippers in Cornwall.
The tasks – which were often kept secret from Mr Heckles – were delivered by StreetVet volunteers and ambassadors including TV presenters Claire Balding and Lorraine Kelly.
The latter delivered a special bumper drawing challenge to Mr Heckles in Bristol, with the resulting canvas illustrations auctioned to raise more than £1,000 for the campaign.
Mr Heckles then took to the streets of London on the final day – in which he raised almost £14,000 alone – for an 18-mile walk along the Thames Path and a climb at “Up at the O2” on what was the activity’s 13th birthday.
He said: “This challenge has been one of the most rewarding and emotional experiences I’ve done.
“Every mile travelled, every portrait drawn, and every person I met reinforced why StreetVet’s work is so vital.
“I’m truly grateful to everyone who donated, turned up or cheered us on along the way. Honestly, I’m knackered, but I’d do it all again tomorrow.”
StreetVet clinical director and co-founder Jade Statt joined Mr Heckles for his challenges in Glasgow – which saw him play the bagpipes at the National Piping Centre – Peterborough and Birmingham.
She said: “This road trip has been nothing short of epic, and it was a privilege to be Hercule’s road buddy for part of it.
“What he has achieved is outstanding, and I look forward to the next adventure.”
Mr Heckles’ latest round of fund-raising efforts has seen him raise more than £218,000 for the charity since 2021.
A fund-raising website set up for the Hercule Hits the Road campaign is still accepting donations.
