A father has completed a half marathon in aid of a charity which supported him and his wife when his son was born seriously ill.

First-time-parents Greg Townson and wife Aly, of Overton Close in Loughton, welcomed baby Bradley into the world on April 5, but he was rushed straight to a specialist unit after being diagnosed with Chronic Lung Disease and Patent Ductus Arteriosus, a serious heart condition.

The couple were given a place to stay close to the hospital by The Sick Children’s Charity.

The 25-year-old soldier said that without this offer, they would have had to face the prospect of being miles away from their son when he needed them the most.

He said: “The Sick Children’s Trust’s Stevenson House was our lifeline and without it we would not have been able to spend time with our son.”

Mr Townson ran the half-marathon between his home and Stevenson House in Whitechapel, last week to raise £500.
He chose the route to demonstrate how far he would have had to travel everyday to be with his premature child if The Sick Children’s Trust had not provided somewhere to stay.

“Now that Bradley is home and well, I really wanted to try and give something back to the charity that supported us through such a difficult time,” Mr Townson said.
To support Greg click here.