A real cross to bear: Globetrotting Christian carries 12ft crucifix around the world for 26 YEARS

Globetrotting Christian Lindsay Hamon really does have his own cross to bear - after hauling a 12ft crucifix thousands of miles round the world for 26 YEARS.

Lindsay Hamon has spent almost half his life trekking through 19 countries including India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with his giant cross.

The committed preacher has been thrown out of St Peter's Square in Rome, shot at in Bangladesh, and attacked by angry zealots, but insists he won't give up his one-man quest.

Mr Hamon, a part-time care worker, has taken 'spreading the word of God' to a whole new level since starting out with his 12ft cedar wood cross in 1987, and has only spent a handful of weeks without it since.

He carries the huge cross, which has a wheel on the foot of the upright, over his shoulder for up to 12 hours a day, and often has no idea where he will sleep that night.

And Mr Hamon, from Camborne, Cornwall, admits he has feared for his life over the years during his journey.

He said: "There is a reaction from people straight away, you end up talking and connecting to people you wouldn't normally talk to.

Related: Pope says goodbye from summer retreat in final hours of Papacy

"People start opening up about there own lives and you end up sharing with them something that is most personal.

"I find people often want to talk, but if people don't want to know I walk on.

"The love you get from it all is amazing, people will just stop and ask you questions, offer you food and sometimes a place to stay."

"There is fear there sometimes because I have a wife and kids and you don't want to put yourself in danger. It is really trusting in God, knowing he will protect you."

Lindsay first took up the 12ft by 6ft tall cedar wood cross in 1987 and has only spent a handful of weeks without the crucifix.

He manages to get the giant cross overseas by dismantling it into three 6ft long pieces of wood and declaring it as extra luggage on flights.

Related: Pope Benedict address final audience (slideshow)

Since 1987 he has traveled to Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka and the
United Kingdom.

He receives generous donations from supporters to help him stay on the road, but with a mortgage, car insurance etc, he stops to carry out carework in his home town in order to pay the bills.

"I tried giving up my full time work and doing this full time instead but I didn't get enough money to make ends meet," he added.

It is estimated Lindsay has spoken to thousands of curious people during his treks around the world and has shaken hands and prayed with many more.

He often finds himself ministering to prostitutes or invited to brothels, and will regularly spend nights in bus shelters or basic accomodation with only a sleeping bag, and a hole in the floor for a bathroom.

Even language barriers do not hold the preacher back and he regularly finds himself mobbed by hundreds of locals wanting to hear him speak, even if they do not understand.

He said: "As you can expect in the UK language isn't a problem. I walk into town centres and try and say hello to everyone I can but I realise that some people don't want to talk.

"You shake hands with people a lot and some ask you to pray with them. Oddly some of the best conversations I have had have been at pubs where people are willing to sit down and give the time to talk to you.

"I can speak a bit of Spanish and French but other than that it can be a bit of a problem.

"When I'm in countries where I don't know the language I try to write out a prayer in the language so I can show people that, and often I will just pray in English anyway.

"Sometimes you get people who translate for you, I had one young boy who came out of no where when I was talking to around 20 or 30 people and he just translated everything.

"When it was done he just disappeared, I never knew who he was or where he came from, it's amazing."

He is currently on the road in England, travelling from Taunton, in Somerset, to Bristol, before heading south to Exeter and finally onwards to see his wife and dog at home in Cornwall.

His next trip abroad will be to Latvia in May, before he will move on to Cambodia after the rainy season has ended.