GRASSROOTS football coaches are well-known for going the extra mile for their team.

But Ashley Barnes, from AFC Clarets Football Club, has taken it to another extreme by running to each member of his team’s house ­— equal to a marathon ­— to raise money for their under-11s side.

The 32-year-old wanted to raise money so the 13-player team could take part in a football tournament near Alton Towers in May, so got his running shoes on for the cause on Sunday.

He said: "I just came up with the idea to get the kids together and do a tournament.

“I used to go away on tour as a child and I wanted to give the kids the same opportunity.

“I lost between four and five stone running a few years ago and I only got back into it last year.

“The conditions were perfect and it is just how you would like it to be when you are running.”

But Ash admits that the run was not plain sailing.

He said: “The start of it was hard as where I live is all hills.

"After 26k I was starting to feel pain in my legs but I managed to get some Deep Heat and a change of clothes and got back on it.”

Each child had their own sponsorship form and covered some of the 42.3 kilometers with Ashley. Despite never having run that far before, he managed to cover the distance in 5 hours and 35 minutes.

He said: “The kids loved it. There were some parts they were not able to do as it was not safe but they went in a car and were cheering me on to support me.

“It was good as five or six of the kids live local but others made the distance up to 39k."

He added an extra 3km to the distance to make it equivalent to a marathon.

Ashley, who set up AFC Clarets in 2015, added: “We are looking to go to Alton Towers for two days of football then spend a day at the park. We like to do something in the UK so that the siblings can come and they can do something as a family.”

Chairman of AFC Clarets, Gary Dugdale, praised the Burnley coach for his achievements.

He said: “It is an absolutely fantastic achievement.

“He came up with the brainwave when he was away on holiday. All of the boys managed to support him and it was a great idea as it is becoming more and more difficult for teams to raise money.

“I think he would have wished the players in his team lived closer together!”

The sponsorship money is currently being collected and added up.