Record bid by runner on Whitby steps

Karl Wittering pictured at the steps ready to take on the challenge

A running enthusiast of 63 is aiming to set a new charity record by scaling Whitby's 199 steps from the old town to St Mary's Church, 199 times.

Karl Wittering, from Fylingthorpe, will attempt the feat next month with the aim of raising money for the town’s wildlife sanctuary. He expects it to take around 13 hours.

He said: “I tend to do big races every year but this year I didn’t do one. So I thought I’d just run up Whitby’s 199 steps 199 times, and when I looked to see if anyone had done it before I couldn’t find anyone.

“I must be the first.”

The steps, which also connect the town to Whitby Abbey, date from 1340 when it is believed they were used to test the faith of followers of Christianity. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, they are scaled by a “large dog” escaping from a shipwreck below