Relay marathon for stadium walkers

The 48-hour sponsored event is taking in 12 stadiums and aims to raise money for the Forget Me Not Trust which is raising money to build a new hospice in Huddersfield for children from Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Organiser Mike Wilson, from Halifax, recruited many of the participants from among work colleagues at Lloyds Banking Group offices in Halifax and Leeds.

The 160 miles has been broken up into stretches of about 10 miles, with small groups assigned to complete each one.

Mr Wilson hopes to complete about 30 miles, including a 1am start that will take him from Hull to Burton-upon-Stather.

He said: "My mum died in a hospice and I have three kids myself, so we decided to support a local charity so we can see where the money is going."

Fans of Barnsley, Huddersfield, Leeds and other Yorkshire clubs have been recruited to boost the fund-raising and many clubs have donated shirts and prizes which can be won by those who sponsor the walkers.

Their "baton" will be a football which they plan to sign and deliver to the hospice once it is up and running.

The group has a target of around 5,000 and aims to complete the challenge at 4pm tomorrow when they reach the Billy Bremner statue at Elland Road, Leeds.

The West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust is currently raising funds to provide specialist hospice and respite services for life-limited children.

A specialist hospice is due to be built at Brackenhall, Huddersfield. It is expected to cost more than 3m to build and 1.5m a year to run.