PORTER Alan Graham has taken on an unusual fitness challenge.

He clocked more than one and a half million steps to win a stepometer task, aimed at boosting the fitness of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council employees.

Mr Graham, 38, won praise for his efforts from Mayor Madge Moses after walking 1,533,611 steps over 13 weeks. He was the clear winner among 100 volunteers who took part in the event, organised by the council's sports development officer, Neil Young.

Mr Graham, who won Asda gift vouchers as the winner, said: "My best day was 33,000 steps. And I used to walk to work from South Bank - sometimes back home, too.

"That's how I've won, I think. It's about four-and-a-half miles and it usually took me an hour and 35 minutes.

"But I've always been fit and active - my job gets me up and down stairs all the time, anyway."

Mr Young said: "We think the challenge has been a great success and now we're carrying out an evaluation of the effect the challenge had on people and if they will be following on their various activities now it has ended."

Second place went to Lyndsey Cryer, from the Liberata Intake section, with 1,178,876 steps, while Mandy Jacobs, a member of the Early Years and Childcare Partnership's toy library staff, was third, with 1,028,570 steps.