A TEACHER from Appleton has raised almost £8,000 for Children with Cancer by running the London marathon.

Matthew Hennessey completed the 26.2-mile run in October, and has since raised thousands of pounds for a good cause.

He was helped along the way by pupils at Broomfields Junior School, where he teaches.

Warrington Guardian: With the help of his school, Matthew raised almost £8,000 for charityWith the help of his school, Matthew raised almost £8,000 for charity (Image: Matthew Hennessey)

The school held a 'mini-marathon' in September in order to raise money for Matthew's chosen charity, and to show support for a member of the school.

Pupils at the school ran a total of more than 150 miles during the marathon event.

The school's event was organised by Matthew ahead of the marathon, and the school managed to raise a combined total of £4,890.

Matthew raised the rest of the money on his own, taking the total amount of donations up to a whopping £7,738.

Speaking ahead of the event, Matthew said: "It is a very difficult challenge and it is something that you don't think you can ever do while you're training.

"But throughout the training I've been feeling healthier, fitter and am looking forward to keeping it up."

Warrington Guardian: The 'mini-marathon' event at Matthew's school raised almost £5,000The 'mini-marathon' event at Matthew's school raised almost £5,000 (Image: Matthew Hennessey)

In preparation for the event, Matthew was in training for five months, and clocked up more than 70 hours of training time for the big day.

When asked about the challenge of completing a marathon, Matthew said: "The weekly long runs have been incredibly hard and they have been a mental battle as it can be lonely running for over three hours by yourself.

"It has also been difficult to train while working full time as it is physically exhausting."

Matthew decided to raise money for Children with Cancer because 'they are a charity that does incredible work and they have many inspirational stories to share.'

Warrington Guardian: Having totalled up all donations, Matthew and his school have raised £7,738Having totalled up all donations, Matthew and his school have raised £7,738 (Image: Matthew Hennessey)

Children with Cancer was founded in 1987, and was inaugurated by then-Princess Diana in January 1988.

Around two per cent of cancer funding in the UK is spent on research that is fully dedicated to childhood and young adult cancer.

Matthew completed the London marathon on Saturday, October 2, and was supported by Appleton's Broomfields Junior School.