A former soldier who's been climbing the walls at home during coronavirus lockdown has set himself a challenge to raise money for the NHS.

Spencer McBride, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps for seven years, is using the daily outdoor exercise allowance set by the government to run 10km in under 40 minutes, every single day, until he has to go back to work.

And in carrying out the challenge, Mr McBride, from Blackburn, is aiming to raise money for the NHS, and in particular the Royal Blackburn Hospital, where his sister is currently working.

The 44-year-old said: "I work for a company that makes warm rooms, like conservatories, and we've been told to stay home for the next three weeks, like a lot of people.

"So I was sat thinking about what I could do to fill my time and came up with this challenge to raise money for the NHS.

"I'm very proud of the work our NHS are doing at the moment. I fought a war in other countries yet they are having to fight one on our own shores, which is something I can't quite comprehend.

"My sister works at Royal Blackburn Hospital and I'm proud of her for sacrificing her time and possibly her health too during this difficult period."

Originally, Mr McBride wanted to run a marathon a day, but didn't realise he'd be breaking the rules by being out for four hours at a time, so was forced to change it.

He added: "I was gutted when I found out I couldn't do the marathon, it felt like I'd been grounded.

"If I was going to continue, there needed to be an element of hardship to the challenge to make it worthwhile.

"So I'll be running 10km with a 15kg weighted rucksack, every day, until I have to go back to work.

"I've started planning my routes (so social distancing is adhered to), and they'll take no more than 43 minutes over 10km.

"But my aim is to smash the 40 minute run time."

Mr McBride served in the army for seven years and completed tours of Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, as well as training in the Borneo jungle for nine weeks.

He said: "I come from a family of runners, my dad David is still very active where he lives in France and my brother is a tri-athlete who lives in Canada, and they're both very much supportive of what I'm doing."

Mr McBride said he hasn't set an official target for his challenge but hopes to raise enough to help out the staff at Royal Blackburn Hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To sponsor him, visit: gofundme.com/f/10k-a-day-every-day-for-NHS?