A Leek man is running a half marathon on Remembrance Sunday to raise money for charity in memory of his grandad, who died serving in the British Army.

David Owen is taking on the Alton Towers half marathon on Sunday 14th November to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.

David's motivation for the half marathon is coming from his grandad, Wilfred John Simcox, who died in active service in Germany in 1955, serving in the Royal Engineers British Army in the peacekeeping effort after the Second World War.

Wilfred is buried in Hannover in the British Army cemetery.

David told Nub News about his upcoming half marathon, saying: "I started training in August, for my mental health and to keep fit and healthy.

"I ran the Co-op Santa Dash 5km in 2011, the Manchester 10km in 2012 and the JCB mud run in 2013. A

"After some time off running I did the couch to 5km in 2016 but haven't done any charity runs again until now.

"The war graves commission have maintained my grandad's grave, and they do an amazing job of maintaining all British servicemen's graves both at home and abroad."

David had originally hoped to raise at least £1,000 through his half marathon but almost a week ahead of the event he has already smashed this target, having now raised a total of £1,023 at the time of publication.

He currently has a fundraiser live on GoFundMe, and if you would like to donate then please click here.