School's £1,430 marathon effort

The team’s efforts raised money for Willoughby School, in Bourne, which caters for pupils with severe and complex learning needs.

Parent governor Dave Conlon rowed 26-miles at Universal Fitness, in Bourne, over three hours 30 minutes.

He then joined James Husbands, 41, headteacher of the school, and others to trek 26 -miles round Rutland Water insix hours and ten minutes.

Dave, 45, of West Villas, Bourne, is connected with the school as his son Matthew, seven, is a pupil.

Matthew has Down’s Syndrome and Dave says that his progress since joining the school three years ago has been fantastic.

He said: “I decided that I wanted to do something for the school.

“I had been in training for the row for six or seven months.

“I had to stop four times to have a stretch but then I got straight back on and kept going.

“The walk was great but the last one-and-a-half hours was hard and we were becoming sore.”

Their efforts were backed by staff at Cummins Generator Technolgies, in Stamford.

Mick Gaskin, community project liasion at Cummins, took one of Dave’s sponsor forms into work after he saw it in the gym the pair use.

He collected £930 off the shop floor and a further £500 was pledged by the company’s Unite union.

James said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to the fundraisers. The money is for a hot spa for the school to be fitted in September.

“We have students with profound learning needs and this will be fantastic for them.”

James has also lost 10lbs of a sponsored 26lb weight loss for the fundraising.

Our picture shows, from left, James Husbands, headteacher, Mick Gaskin from Cummins, Mick O’Rourke, community involvement team leader at Cummins, and parent governor Dave Conlon.