An Ely man has raised £646 for charity by running 252 miles over 71 days throughout lockdown.

Mark Hodgkinson, of disability charity Scope, has clocked up 400km since February.

On Monday April 12, he completed the challenge by passing the unusual finishing line outside the Scope shop.

The team was there cheering him on in Coronation Parade and they welcomed 30 customers in the first hour of opening post-lockdown.

Ely Standard: Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, approaches Ely charity shopMark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, approaches Ely charity shop (Image: SCOPE)

Mark’s running challenge was part of Scope’s Lockdown Legends fundraiser, which saw people across the UK raise money for the charity while its charity shops were closed.

Mark said: "The lockdowns over the past year have had a huge impact on our income at a time when disabled people need our services the most.

"Our ability to run the services that support disabled people and their families relies on income from our charity shops.

“Our shops generate between £1.7m - £1.9m per month in sales, and in the last financial year, the Ely shop alone was predicted to raise £95,000."

With the charity also having to pause its face-to-face fundraising, Scope decided to create a fundraiser challenge called Lockdown Legends.

“This was certainly a less than traditional end to finishing a race and a first for me."

“I chose to run at least 5km a day for the month of February but, as the days went by, I wanted to raise more funds for our incredible charity and continue until the end of this lockdown.

"What better way than to give my support to our fantastic shop team."

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