A BRAMPTON man is to embark on a 100-mile run to raise awareness and money for his 14-year-old daughter's little-known condition.

Molly Spriggs suffers from PKU, a condition that prevents the person from eating high protein foods such as meat, cheese, poultry, eggs and milk.

The only treatment in the UK is a low protein diet, which means that the sufferer has to supplement their diet with artificial protein.

Ian Spriggs, 51, hopes to raise awareness for the condition, while also raising £1,000 for The National Society for Phenylketonuria (NSPKU).

So far Ian has raised £600 for the charity and he says he will shave his head if he raises his target before the challenge.

Joining him on his quest will be his mascot Pukie, an eight-inch little green man with yellow hair who has already been on many training sessions and even taken part in the Chester Ultramarathon.

If Ian achieves his target after his challenge, he says he will shave Pukie's head.

The NSPKU helps and supports people with PKU and their families.

Ian will run the Thames Path 100 on May 5. It is a 100-mile marked point to point race, which takes runners from Richmond in South West London to the centre of Oxford.

He has taken part in a number of testing challenges, including the Cumbria Way Ultra in 2016, a 73-mile race from Ulverston to Carlisle, which saw him raise £1,300.

He said: "When I do these ridiculous challenges I raise money for a condition my daughter has.

"She has PKU, a condition she has for life. It requires a very strict diet - 95 per cent of normal food is taken out. Anything with flour is out of the question.

"She can't have meat, even substitute meat, she can't have most fruit and vegetables, any seafood or pasta.

"She has to have three liquid supplements which give her artificial protein to substitute for the lost minerals."

Breaking the strict diet can have devastating consequences says Ian.

He said: "People with PKU can't process protein. They don't have the gene that gets rid of protein, if you let that worsen you get brain damage.

"She has never had a hot meal at school, she has never had something off a menu in a restaurant."

The majority of PKU patients in other European countries commission Kuvan treatment, however the NHS does not.

Kuvan allows PKU sufferers to eat a much more varied diet, as it helps the body to better tolerate protein.

The issue was recently debated in parliament by MPs, with the MP for Chelmsford, Vicky Ford, speaking on behalf of a constituent suffering from the condition.

Like the NSPKU, Ian is calling for Kuvan to be made available on the NHS.

"Kuvan is not available in this country, but it would give her a better diet," he said.

"The NHS doesn't prescribe it because it says it is too expensive, but there are 150 kids of her (Molly's) age who have the condition.

"This drug wouldn't even help all of the kids, so it would pretty cheap compared with other drugs."

Molly's mum, Christine, died when Molly was just six-years-old.

"I am married now, but I was married before. My wife died when Molly was six, so it was just me bringing her up on my own.

"We just crack on with it and we do what we have to do," he continued.

"I try not to eat in front of her, like if I wanted a juicy steak I try to make something that she can eat.

"It is hard when she doesn't get invites to kid's parties, if she is invited then we explain what she needs and they don't want to know."

NSPKU spokeswoman Caroline Bridges said: "This is Ian's second mammoth fundraiser for the NSPKU: his grit and determination on his previous event demonstrates his passion for the society.

"Once again Ian has chosen another incredibly challenging event and the NSPKU and its members really appreciate all his fundraising endeavours. PKU is a very rare condition and NSPKU relies entirely on fundraising by families and friends: fundraising and awareness activities like Ian's are crucial to the successful running of the society."

To donate to Ian's cause visit, www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ian-spriggs1

To find out more about the NSPKU and PKU visit, www.nspku.org .