An Ashby man who ran the equivalent of a marathon dressed as the TV character Mrs Brown earlier this year is doing it again.

In April, Richard Bebbington ran 240 times up and down the road where he lives on the day he was meant to be taking part in the London Marathon.

The London event was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic of course, but that did not stop Richard completing his 26 miles to raise funds for the Wishes 4 Kids charity.

Now, Richard plans to stage a repeat, but this time it will be at Hicks Lodge in Willesley on the day the re-arranged London Marathon was meant to have been held.

Once again, he will be donning the Mrs Brown gear and covering the ground in aid of Wishes 4 Kids.

He describes it as a 'virtual marathon' held within the confines of Hicks Lodge.

Richard is also the race director for the annual Ashby 20 race which did not go ahead this year and was among the first sporting events to be hit by the Covid-19 emergency.

Richard has set up a Just Giving page which allows you to make donations HERE.

And he explains his story and why he is running once more.

Richard says: "Ange and I have supported Wishes 4 Kids, a small local Leicestershire charity for over 12 years, and have completed many fund raising challenges. 

"These have included running various marathons ('12 in 12 months' for Richard, '4 in 4 weeks' for both of us to name a few).

"We have also cycled from Land's End to John O' Groats, cycled from Home (Ashby) to Rome, plus we organise various events and help out at the charity whenever we can.

"This year Richard will be running the London Marathondressed as Mrs Brown. Hopefully creating many laughs and lots of money for Wishes 4 Kids.

"All of our challenges are completely self-funded, thereforeEVERY PENNY raised will go directly towards granting wishes for very poorly children in Leicestershire.

"Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity."