Meet the boy running 5k before school for charity

Andre, 8, gets up with a "smile on his face" every morning

Before most of us hit snooze, Andre is already laced up and chasing a cause.

The eight-year-old from Scraptoft, Leicestershire, has challenged himself to run a total of 25km in aid of Children in Need.

It means an earlier start to the day for Andre, who has to complete his daily 5k run before going to school.

"At first I'm tired," he told the BBC. "But then I wake up properly and I'm ready to go. It's great."

At the time of publication, his fundraiser has surpassed the £3,000 benchmark.

But the achievement comes with great sacrifice, as Andre has woken up at 06:00 GMT every morning this week.

Despite rain and early alarms, he said he had enjoyed the challenge so far.

"It's very challenging (...), it's very hard," he said.

"My legs ache a lot. It hurts a lot but I'm happy about it when I've done it."

'Smiles every morning'

He said the running helped him build the stamina for his other activities - golf, football and boxing.

His mum Katrina said they had received a lot of support from family and friends.

"As soon as I get into his bedroom he's normally fairly awake by that point," the 41-year-old business owner said.

"Yesterday he was actually reading a book by the time I walked into his room.

"He has a smile on his face every morning.

"He's doing his best even with the rain and everything, he still has a smile on his face. It's just been incredible."

Andre says he barely takes any breaks on his run

Andre said he enjoys running, and does not rule out running a marathon one day.

The challenge started on Monday, with the last run taking place on Friday morning.

Katrina added: "He was so determined to raise the money and get it completed.

"As a mother, I'm immensely proud of what he's achieved.

"Life's been so hard for so many families that all we can do is play our part.

"I say to [Andre] sometimes, 'you are a very privileged little boy... there are so many children who don't get to experience those things'.

"It's nice to show them from this age that it's good to give back if you can."

Additional reporting by Ady Dayman.