A schoolboy has donned his running shoes to complete a half marathon – in his back garden.
Inspired by health workers’ efforts treating coronavirus patients, 12-year-old Joe Arthur set himself the challenge of completing a charity run.
With the help of dad Richard, the football-mad youngster measured out the back garden of their family home.
Then they got out their calculators to work out how Joe could take on a 13.1-mile challenge without leaving the property in Midstocket, Aberdeen.
And at 8am on Monday he set off on his first of 704 laps of the garden, all to raise money for the intensive therapy unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
He completed the feat two hours and 15 minutes later, and has collected more than £1,300 in donations for doing so.
Proud dad Mr Arthur said: “He had been hearing about a man in France who did a marathon on his balcony and he wanted to do something similar.
“My son plays football for Dyce FC and often has games or training a few times a week.
“With the lockdown there’s nothing on and he wanted to keep his fitness levels up, but he’s never done anything like this before.
“He’ll run a lot in his matches and training, but he wanted to push himself a little more than he’s used to.”
Joe was cheered on by his next-door neighbours – who even started him off with the sound of a klaxon –and his sister Evie who made a poster and performed some cheerleading moves.
Since completing the challenge and posting it online, he has received dozens of donations from friends, family and well-wishers.
Mr Arthur added: “We set an initial target of £350, thinking it was maybe going to be a bit of a stretch.
“But there have been quite a few donations coming in, and people have been posting about it on social media for other people to get involved.
“This just shows how kind everybody has been and we’ve all made a big contribution to a good cause.”
To donate to Joe’s fundraising, visit his crowdfunding page on JustGiving.
