A Preston boy who ran 30 miles in 30 days in aid of his grandfather has raised hundreds of pounds for a city hospice.

Harry Cross decided to undertake the running challenge while his grandad Stephen Whittle was being cared for.

The 11-year-old even braved Storm Brian during the challenge to raise more than £900 for St Catherine’s Hospice.

Preston Prison officers played a large part in the donations, as the place where his grandad used to work.

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Stephen, from Clayton-le-Woods, died at the hospice on November 4, aged 58, following a short battle with cancer.

Harry, from Whittle-le-Woods, said: “I really enjoyed it (the run) – even when I had to run through Storm Brian! I just wanted to do something to help the hospice and make my grandad proud whilst he was being looked after.

“I wore a special t-shirt saying ‘Running for Grandad’ so everyone knew why I was doing it. I wanted to raise £200, and I made that in sponsorship in just the first few days. I got up to almost £800 in the end, which is brilliant.”

An online sponsorship campaign was run as well as offline donations through the Prison Service Charity Fund.

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Head of fundraising at St Catherine’s Emma Jacovelli said: “What a determined young man Harry is – his unique fundraising idea not only helped to generate an incredible amount of money for the hospice, but also helped to raise awareness of the charity amongst his family and friends.

“We’re incredibly grateful that Harry went to such lengths for us – running 30 miles over 30 days and in some truly treacherous weather conditions. It’s people like Harry who enable us to continue providing specialist end-of- life care to local people now and in the future. We’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Harry, as well as Stephen’s workmates, for their amazing support.”