FATHER Fitness has raised around £1,000 after completing his 12 Days of Christmas running challenge.

Paul Stainthorpe, a father-of-two, from Newton Hall, Durham, has run at locations relevant to the gifts given on each day in the traditional song The 12 Days of Christmas to raise money for the Percy Hedley Foundation, which works with disabled children.

Destinations included Pear Tree Lodge, Witton Gilbert, for A Partridge in a Pear Tree, Ramsdens Jewellers, in Chester-le-Street, for Five Gold Rings and the Swan and Three Cygnets pub, in Durham, for Seven Swans-a-Swimming.

On New Year's Day, it was Lanchester Dairies for Eight Maids-a-Milking and his final run on Saturday, for Twelve Drummers Drumming, was be the 6.6 miles home from Drum Industrial Estate, near Chester-le-Street.

Mr Stainthorpe said: “The last run went fine, but I was getting a bit of pain below my knee so I am going to take a week off.

“The support I have had, though, has been fantastic.”