Running with a washing machine in memory of friend

An army veteran is running a half marathon with a washing machine strapped to his back to raise money for seriously ill newborns.

Giles Tennick is taking up the mantel of old army friend Martin Realey, who used to run the Oxfordshire half-marathon with the very same 28kg washing machine, but passed away last year.

The money will go to Support for Sick Newborns and their Parents - or Ssnap - based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Tennick is currently in training for the Gloucester Half Marathon on 22 March,and says he knows his old friend will be with him in spirit "with an espresso martini in hand".