A HARROW man has pledged to run at least three miles a day, every day for a year, in a bid to raise money for charity.

Andy Ratcliffe, who launched his fundraiser yesterday, hopes to raise £18,000 for charity Sense, which provides support to people who are deafblind.

The 32-year-old from Ashbourne Avenue will also blog every day on www.1095miles.com to keep people informed about his progress.

Speaking before his first run yesterday morning, Mr Ratcliffe, a civil servant, said: "A lot of friends will be coming to see me on my way today. I’m quite apprehensive but also excited. I’ll be running every day for a year and that’s a big commitment."

He added that "nothing" will stop him completeing his daily three miles. He added: "I’m supposed to be going skiing in February, so I imagine I’ll be doing a very cold run!

"Skipping a day isn’t an option – anything short of a broken limb and I’ll run no matter what. Even if I get ill, I’ll keep going. I can run as slowly as I like as long as I hit the distance."

Mr Ratcliffe chose Sense because he has worked with the charity for the past eight years, helping take deafblind people on a two-week holiday in the UK.

He said: "It’s difficult work but terribly, terribly rewarding."

Mr Ratcliffe will initially run different routes around Wealdstone, South Harrow and Harrow-on-the-Hill. He added: "Unfortunately, there are no parks that stretch for three miles around here. But if anyone would like to run with me, so my next 365 days aren’t spent running around the same places, please do get in touch via www.1095miles.com."

He has also bought a new pair of trainers for the challenge and thinks he’ll probably be buying another four pairs to get him through the year.