A RUNNER from Northwich who has raised more than £15,000 for local charities despite having 13 knee operations has found a new way to keep up his good work.

Former Leftwich, Barnton, and Winnington footballer, Stephen Carter, is currently raising money for Northwich-based children’s charity, Tiny Steps.

But instead of clocking up the miles pounding the tarmac as a long-distance runner, he’s taking advantage of his job as professional dogwalker to get the miles under his belt in the form of recorded steps.

Stephen clocked up an impressive 600,000 steps in April in memory of his friend, David Hodkinson, who died a year ago after a long battle with motor neurone disease (MND).

In July 2023, four months after David’s death, Stephen raised more than £3,100 by running 150 miles for the MND Association.

Though he did his first waking challenge in April in David’s name, the beneficiary this time will be Tiny Steps, as it's a charity close to both their hearts.  

Stephen is currently a little way off his £1,000 fundraising target, but you can help him out by donating through his JustGiving page.

Hetiny  said: “Half-a-million steps in one month was quite an ambitious target, though I ended up doing more.

"I had to do top-up walks in the evenings when I finished with my clients’ dog.

"I've got my own 22-acre woodland in Lostock Gralam where I can take up to nine dogs at a time, and they can run about to their hearts' content. 

“It turns out they do a lot more miles than I do.”

Tiny Steps was set up in 2013 by a Northwich couple who experienced isolation after their child was born with developmental difficulties in 2010.

The charity provides specialist stay and play sessions in Northwich and Winsford, but its ultimate goal is to set up its own inclusive sensory centre and social café.