A RUNNING fanatic from Blackburn has raised over £8,000 for Mencap by completing six marathons in six days.

David Ward, 35, of Lower Darwen, battled through 50 degree heat to come 479th out of 1030 competitiors in the world’s ultimate marathon, the Des Sables expedition in Morocco.

He said: “I trained really hard for this event, but after the first stage I was left really scared. I was shocked by how brutal the terrain and conditions were and it was a far cry from running the streets of Blackburn.”

He saw other competitors collapsed unconscious, and by day four, David himself became unwell due to heat stroke, and began vomitting.

David competed in memory of his cousin, Jacqueline Gee, who was born in 1993 with Down’s Syndrome but died soon after.