A STORY in the Daily Echo prompted a team of desk-bound recruitment specialists to don their trainers and enter the Bournemouth Marathon Festival.

Stuart Jones, from City Centre Recruitment, read an article about five-year-old Harrison Dilling, from Ferndown, and his family’s efforts to raise £10,000.

Having persuaded his colleagues to join him, the five-strong team set themselves a target to donate £1,000 towards Harrison’s Trust Fund, which will go towards helping the Dilling family purchase a customised wheelchair and accessible vehicle.

Stuart said: “Now we’ve met Harrison, Jon and Jo and their other son Reece, we are even more spurred on to do our very best to support them.

“Harrison has cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic, but he’s such a happy little soul.

“As a team we wanted to get fit and enter the Half Marathon, and now we’re super motivated to get as much sponsorship as we possibly can.”

From their offices in Old Christchurch Road, the City Centre Recruitment team, which includes managing director Dan Shrimpton, have been pushing the pain threshold in training for the race which takes place on Bournemouth seafront on Sunday, October 5.

Harrison’s dad Jon said: “We have been really touched by the way that strangers, as well as family and friends, have rallied round to help us with fundraising activities.

“Harrison is always going to need help, and our immediate concern is to get him a specially adapted power wheelchair which he can steer using his head at the cost of around £8-£10,000. Any funds the City Centre team can donate will be a great help.”

Anyone wanting to donate can visit Stuart’s fundraising page gofundme.com/bkwn18. To find out more about Harrison’s Trust Fund visit harrisonstrustfund.co.uk