A RUNNER is hoping to raise £1,000 for the Daily Echo's Let's Help Neil appeal when she takes part in the Edinburgh marathon in June.

One month ago we launched a campaign to help raise £30,000 to buy Corporal Neil Heritage from Hamworthy a pair of high-tech prosthetic limbs to replace the ones he has been given on the NHS.

Neil lost both legs last November when a suicide bomber blew up a car just two metres away from where he was working with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit in Camp Dogwood, just south of Baghdad.

Now Helen Ryder, a seasoned distance runner, says she wants to raise as much money as possible to Neil pay for his new legs.

"It's just such a heartbreaking thing to happen to a young man," said Helen.

"I wanted to run to raise money for something in the local area, and for me as a sportswoman and a runner, this seemed a particularly worthy cause."

The mother of two from Milton Road, Bournmouth, is no stranger to marathon running and clocks up an average of 50 miles a week.

"At the moment I'm training almost every day. I do a fifteen-mile run two or three times a week with smaller runs in between," she said.

"Last year I ran the London marathon in around four and a half hours, but I'm aiming to do this one in under four.

"It definitely helps me when I'm running to think about what I'm running for. It stays in your mind and really keeps you going, knowing that you're doing it for a good cause."

Daily Echo readers have so far pledged more than £15,000 to the Let's Help Neil fund, an amazing response in such a short space of time.

Helen says she has received sponsorship mainly from friends and family, but is hoping to get as many people as possible to pledge money.

"It doesn't matter if its pounds or just a few pennies, it all helps. Last year I raised over £900 for a hospice that took care of a friend of mine.

"It would be great if I could raise even more this time round. Breaking the thousand pound barrier would be amazing."

If you would like to pledge money for Helen's marathon run on June 12, sponsorship forms can be picked up from Top Trainers in the Burlington Arcade, Bournemouth.

First published: May 3