A NORTH-EAST man has been hailed as "inspirational" by a charity chief after raising more than £12,000.

Rugby player Kenny Reader , 26, of Durham City, was singled out for praise by Alzheimer’s Society chairwoman Dame Gill Morgan for running 10k for 100 consecutive days in memory of his Uncle Solly Reader.

Dame Gill said: “Kenny’s dedication and commitment to the fight against dementia has been quite simply inspirational, and what he has achieved is remarkable in more ways than one.

“That is because not only has he gone through the pain barrier to personally raise a huge amount money for Alzheimer’s Society by running 10k daily for 100 consecutive days but he has also raised a huge amount of dementia awareness along the way which is invaluable.”

Mr Reader, who plays for Durham Rugby Football Club, initially set his sights on raising £2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society but proved to be a runaway success as his friends rallied behind him with 100 people joining him for the last leg around Durham City.

Mr Reader said: ‘I decided to take part in this challenge for Alzheimer’s Society to remember my Uncle Solly who died four years ago after suffering with Alzheimer's.

“It made me realise what a shattering disease dementia can be because he used to be the life and soul of the party but Alzheimer’s robbed him of his vibrant personality.

“Sol was a really nice bloke and I thought I should do my bit to fight dementia in his memory. Now it’s nice to think that I will be raising funds to help support people to live well with dementia and to fund research to one day find a cure for dementia.”