A father whose first child was stillborn is putting his body on the line to repay a charity which helped support his family through traumatic times.

Steve Crawshaw, from Thetford, will be running the mammoth 100km Race to the Stones ultra marathon in July in support of Sands - the Stillbirth and neonatal death charity.

Mr Crawshaw, 37, said he was inspired to take on the challenge after Sands supported his wife, Lucy, following the death of their son Roan at 39 weeks to a rare fetal haemorrhage in September 2009.

They have since had three children - Evan, five, Noah, three, and Maggie, who was born on January 26.

He said the experience of losing Roan had made the couple better parents, but was shocked to find that an average of 17 families a day in the UK go through the same tragic loss.

'Finding out there were that many families going through the same thing was a real eye-opener,' he said.

'We feel blessed now that we have got healthy children, but there needs to be more research and procedures put in place so that we can bring that figure of 17 a day down,' he said.

He has raised more than £1,150 through a Just Giving page - having set a £1,000 target - and said the aim now was to raise awareness of Sand's work.

'Their guidance and support was invaluable and it's time to repay the support they've given us,' he said.

He is well into a training regime that will see him taking on 75km runs by June, before the event itself on July 16.

The race takes place in the South West of England, from the Chilterns in Oxfordshire to the North Wessex Downs on the ancient Ridgeway path.

To donate to Mr Crawshaw's fundraising, go to www.justgiving.com/steve-crawshaw-RTTS2016

Are you taking on a gruelling fundraiser? Let us know by emailing andrew.fitchett@archant.co.uk or call 01842 752510.