A DISABLED six-year-old boy, who could barely walk at the start of lockdown has sensationally raised over £11,000 by completing a marathon in 30 days.
Will Ritchie, who suffers with the condition Encephalocraniocutaneous Lipomatosis, epilepsy and has a sight impairment, received a hero's welcome from friends and family as he crossed the finish line on Tuesday June 30 in his home village of Port Sunlight.
The schoolboy, who attends Elleray Park Special School in Wallasey, took on the seemingly impossible task to help raise money for the the Globe-backed Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) Covid-19 Support Fund.
Incredibly, he was able to raise a staggering total in excess of £11,000 for the appeal, with donations still coming in.
Proud mum Janet Ritchie, who was in tears when her son crossed the finishing line, said: "I'm completely overwhelmed. It's so nice to have such support from everybody around the local neighbourhood - our friends and family near and far.
"We've had people stop us in the street and say how they've read about Will in the paper.
"He's done us really proud. We started off with something small and we said that we'll see if he can do it every day. He's done it over 30 days and managed to raise over £11,000 in the process."
With the help from his family along the way, Will managed to exceed the marathon distance, walking 29.5 miles in total.
His efforts make him the single biggest fundraiser for the WUTH Covid-19 Support Fund since it began on April 8.
Over £62,000 has now been raised across Wirral for the appeal, making it one of the most successful regional campaigns in the country.
Will's dad Adam said: "We're super proud of him. He's so resilient anyway and we kind of knew deep down that he could do it, but now we've actually done it with him it's brilliant.
"I think there were only two days in the whole thing when he wasn't really feeling it, but he powered through and we're really proud of him."
You can still sponsor Will by visiting: justgiving.com/fundraising/Janet-Ritchie
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