Derbyshire man's half-marathon a day for cancer fundraiser

Tom Cotterill, who has never met Jude Hawkridge or his family, is raising money for the ward where the youngster is being treated

A father-of-two is running half a marathon every day for a month after seeing a Facebook post about an eight-year-old boy with leukaemia.

Tom Cotterill, of Chesterfield, read about Jude Hawkridge, who is being treated at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

The 32-year-old, who has never met Jude or his family, is raising money for the hospital's cancer and leukaemia ward.

He said the 400-mile (644km) challenge was "beyond anything" he has ever done.

Mr Cotterill has a two-year-old son - also called Jude - and nine-year-old daughter called Anya

Mr Cotterill, who took up running after the stillbirth of his daughter Taryn in 2016, has run 13.1 miles (21km) at 05:00 BST every day since 1 July and will have completed 406.1 miles (654km) when he finishes the challenge on Friday.

He said when he runs he feels "like Taryn is by my side, taking on new challenges and helping as many people and great charities as we can".

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Jude Hawkridge, pictured with his sister Lilly and his mum Jo, is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and is also raising money for the ward

Jude Hawkridge, from Rotherham, is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare cancer that stops the bone marrow from making healthy white blood cells.

Mr Cotterill said: "Jude and his family are doing such an awesome job at raising money for Sheffield Children's Hospital and I thought they might like a little more help."

The Children's Hospital Charity's £2.75m appeal will expand the ward, with more space for treatment and play, a separate adolescent area, and additional bed space, including single bedrooms and en-suite facilities.