A soldier in the British Armed Forces, who is from St Ives, has raised nearly £4,000 for The Sick Children's Trust by running 496km in December.

Daniel Peck, 33, took part in the "496 challenge", which requires runners to complete one run per day, with the date determining the distance ran. 

Daniel decided to fundraise for The Sick Children's Trust while completing the challenge.

The Sick Children's Trust offers a 'Homes from Home' service for families with sick children in hospital. The service allows families to stay in one of its 10 homes for free, which are much closer to the hospitals.

It costs the charity £40 to support a family for one night. This is increasing due to the cost of living crisis, which is why Daniel opted to fundraise for the charity.

He began his fundraising efforts on December 1 by running 1km. Daniel upped the distance every day in December, and after completing a 31km run on New Year's Eve, he'd hit his target of 496km.

Talking about why he decided to complete the challenge in December, Daniel said: "To have a seriously sick child in hospital is one of the most hurtful family situations imaginable.

"I thought doing a challenge like this in December would be a good way of highlighting that, even at Christmas, families all over the country go through that hardship."

Vanessa Buckley, the Head of Fundraising at The Sick Children's Trust, said that Daniel had "an extraordinary level of commitment and motivation". 

She said: "As a charity we rely on the generosity of our supporters and fundraisers, like Daniel, to make sure we can continue supporting families while their child is seriously sick in hospital.

"We cannot thank him enough for taking on such an incredible challenge in support of our ‘Homes from Home.”