Rob Burrow inspires man to raise £25,000 for MND

A man inspired by the story of Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield has already raised more than £25,000 for charity after setting himself a huge challenge.

Rob Tiffney is aiming to walk 5,000 miles in 500 days to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

He became passionate about the cause following the death of former rugby league player Burrow in June.

As part of his fundraising, Mr Tiffney has even run with former rugby league player Sinfield during his latest feat for charity.

"It was day 250 of my challenge, and I got invited to run the extra mile with Kevin Sinfield, which was just amazing," said Mr Tiffney, who is a gardener from Sandiacre in Derbyshire.

"I was honoured to have been chosen to join him, and I had an absolutely amazing day."

He originally set himself a target of raising £5,000 but quickly exceeded that.

"If I raised £1 per mile, I thought I'd done amazing," he said.

"We hit that target on day 54 of the challenge. Now there is no target, we raise as much money as we can, and the ultimate aim is to find a cure for this awful disease."

Mr Tiffney can often be seen walking around Erewash and Broxtowe with a big flag on his back.

"The support from the local community has been amazing," he said.

"People have been beeping their horns, waving at me, stopping and dropping money in the bucket, which is absolutely incredible. I never expected any of that."

He is due to end his challenge in August, when he will walk from Breaston in Derbyshire to Headingley Stadium, home of Leeds Rhinos.

His wife Lianne Tiffney said she could not be more proud of him.

"When Rob takes something on, he will see it through right to the end, and the support he's had has been incredible, and it just spurs him on even more," she said.

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