A LITTLE boy who was left heartbroken after the death of his grandfather has completed a fundraising challenge in his memory.

Tobias Packham, a pupil at Lewes Old Grammar Schools, ran 20 kilometres around Ditchling Common to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

The ten-year-old completed the first ten laps with his schoolfriend before his family joined in to see him across the finish line.

Tobias’s dad Dean said his son was determined to honour the memory of his grandfather Conrad Packham, who died of lung cancer and heart complications in December last year.

The Argus: Tobias, left, and his friend Matthew Tobias, left, and his friend Matthew

Dean said: “Tobias was close to his grandad and I think this is one of the ways he is coming to terms with the loss.

“We are extremely proud of him and this wonderful achievement.

“Tobias decided he wanted to honour his grandad, or dadda, as he was known, and showed great initiative by coming up with the idea, setting up the Justgiving page himself and then actually running 20k.”

Tobias smashed his original target of £150 and he has now raised more than £400.

Carrier Whyte, headteacher at Lewes Old Grammar School, said: “The fact that Tobias managed to channel his grief to support such a wonderful charity makes us incredibly proud of his determination and resilience.

“A lot of children did more exercise than they might otherwise have done during lockdown and it's great to see this has inspired him to do something so worthwhile.”

The British Heart Foundation conduct pioneering research that has helped to halve deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK.

According to the charity, there are around 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK... four million men and 3.6 million women.

In the UK, there are more than 100,000 hospital admissions each year due to heart attacks, which equals one every five minutes.

To support Tobias’ Just Giving page, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tobias-packham