Malton businessman, Andy Reeves, has managed to complete seven marathons in as many days - and raised £8,500 with the feat.

The funds, which will go towards Ryedale Special Families, were collected in support of Mr Reeves' undergoing a full marathon (on a treadmill, on October 6) and the Yorkshire Marathon (on Sunday, October 20), in between which were sandwiched five pre-planned routes.

Those five pre-planned routes were all 26.2 miles long - the official length of a full marathon.

Mr Reeves said: "Running seven marathons in seven consecutive days was one of the most demanding physical and mental challenges I have undertaken, and there were times when it felt incredibly tough to keep going, but knowing that I was raising money to improve the lives of local people in the Ryedale area was enough to inspire me to continue every day.

"Knowing that someone local will directly benefit from my efforts makes me feel very humble that I got to do 'my hobby' and raise funds and awareness for such a great local charity who have supported me throughout the process."

Commenting for the charity, Rob Davies, funding co-ordinator, said: "We are all in awe of Andy’s incredible achievement and hugely grateful for the amount he has raised.

"We all followed his progress every day and witnessed both the highs and lows he had to endure, but once he’d passed the halfway mark with four marathons under his belt, he seemed to get stronger each day for the remaining three!

"On behalf of everyone connected with Ryedale Special Families, I’d like to pass on our sincere thanks."

More information about Ryedale Special Families is available at https://www.ryedalespecialfamilies.org.uk/