A self-employed Norfolk builder is taking a well-deserved rest after completing a 29 day jog from the top to toe of Britain to support an injured friend.

Matt Harrison, of Attleborough, has raised more than �4,000 for three life-saving organisations after running an average of 30 miles a day from John O'Groats to Land's End.

The 30-year-old endurance runner suffered injuries to his left knee, right ankle, and numerous blisters as he pounded the streets for more than 850 miles.

The fundraising feat, which will be split between the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Addenbrooke's Critical Care Unit in Cambridge, and the Colman Centre for Specialist Rehabilitation Services in Norwich, comes after his friend, Chris Taaffe, was involved in a serious motorcycle crash last October.

Paramedics and doctors saved the life of the 29-year-old, of Kenninghall, who was in a coma for several weeks, and is now at a specialist centre in Ely where he is continuing his rehabilitation

Mr Harrison, who has completed two London Marathons and has run the length of Hadrian's wall in the past, said the charity challenge, which is more commonly done by cyclists, was more difficult than he anticipated. He started in Scotland on August 16 and finished at Land's End on September 13.

'I treated it like a job and I got up at 8am and finished at 6pm with two or three breaks in between. Some days I enjoyed it and others I hated it. The terrain in Scotland involved long up hills, but the hardest part was running down the hills in Cornwall.'

Mr Harrison, who was joined by his brother Daniel and mother Christine for part of the route, said it was emotional to complete the marathon run. Friend Jackie Bush made up the support crew.

'The idea was to help Chris and it was not about myself. There maybe other things in the pipeline, but I have no other plans. I am just trying to take it easy,' he said.

A welcome home celebration was held at the Garden House pub in Banham where a charity auction, including Mr Harrison's running shoes, raised an extra �1,000 for the good causes.

Visit www.mattysbigrun.blogspot.com