A Cumbrian firefighter walked more than 24 miles on one of the hottest days of the year to raise cash for the NHS.

Ryan Glover walked from the fire station in Workington to the Maryport and Cockermouth bases, and then back to Workington’s community hospital in his full firefighting gear, including his heavy boots.

The 31-year-old raised more than £1,600 for North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust to help them in their coronavirus response - and the money is still coming in.

“I’m overwhelmed at the amount of money raised and the support I’ve had, if it hadn’t been for all that support I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” he said.

Ryan is a retained firefighter and crew manager at Workington’s fire station and he also works shifts at Iggesund, making him a ‘double keyworker’.

Ryan’s brother Carl, 32, made a last minute decision to join him in the challenge.

And their mum Julie made sure that at each checkpoint they were greeted with food and snacks.

“It took us eight hours and one minute to do a total of 24.11 miles, we set off from Workington at 6am.

“When we got to the Workington hospital, family and friends were there waiting for us and cheering, they’d made banners.”

And among those showing their support was Ryan’s four-year-old daughter Ava Rose, who also made a banner for him.

At the hospital, they held a two minute silence to pay their respects to those who lost their lives to coronavirus.

“It was quite emotional,” said Ryan.

During the walk, his jacket and helmet came off a couple of times due to the heat, but it was his boots that proved to be the biggest obstacle.

Ryan, who is married to Bethanie, said: “My feet on the way back from Cockermouth were really getting to me, the boots are really heavy and it was so warm.”

Despite doing the walk in challenging conditions on Sunday, Ryan was back training with the crew on Tuesday evening and getting ready for another shift at Iggesund yesterday. “When I got home after the walk I just sat in my daughter’s paddling pool and had a cider.”