Hula hooping runner breaks world record

"I can hula hoop, and I can run - so I thought 'why not?'"

Tamara 'Tats' Ward, from Middle Barton in Oxfordshire, has raised more than £500,000 for the charity Dravet Syndrome UK over the past five years - but recently took on her craziest challenge yet.

On Sunday, she ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London while hula hooping - setting a new world record in the process.

Ms Ward's nephew has Dravet, a rare form of epilepsy that causes learning disability and a spectrum of associated conditions such as autism and speech difficulties.

"He's an amazing little 9-year-old boy who loves being with family and friends," Ms Ward said.

"But other 9-year-olds are playing rugby or football, having sleepovers, and he can't do any of that because he has to have one-on-one care at all times."

Ms Ward has raised more than £500,000 for Dravet Syndrome UK

Over the past five years, Ms Ward has fundraised for Dravet Syndrome UK - which is an independent charity supporting nearly 600 families living with the condition.

She and her family have organised a number of events including gala balls, cricket matches and long-distance cycle rides.

"I was looking through my phone and this woman popped up in America and she was running and hula hooping a half marathon and it said she had the world record, and I said 'actually I'm going to do that'," she explained.

"Five months ago, I broke my back, so it was probably a bit of a stupid idea but I was always going to do it."

She said her training for the 13.1 mile (21.1km) run involved a "few runs, but it's quite embarrassing running around the roads with a hula hoop".

"The most I did whilst training was 15km (9.3 miles) and I honestly came back and thought I was going to die."

In London, on Sunday, Ms Ward completed the fastest time recorded for a half marathon while hula hooping - in a time of two hours and 29 minutes.

She said it had been "amazing", despite it being "a nightmare to navigate through all of the thousands of people".

On what her next challenge might be, Ms Ward said: "Someone has told me to bear crawl a half marathon, but I think might have to hold back on that one."