A father-of-three who underwent open heart surgery in his mid 20s has been raising money for the hospital which saved his life.

Ten years ago, Lawrence Wiffin had surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London after a hole was discovered in his heart when he was just 24-years-old.

A decade on, Mr Wiffin decided to undertake a fundraising challenge to raise money for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity.

For ten days from November 6 until November 15, Mr Wiffin ran 10km every day.

He said: "I am forever grateful to the wonderful staff at the Brompton and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have gone on to have three healthy wonderful sons.

"Therefore to mark my anniversary and incorporating my love of running, I’ve set myself a challenge to raise money for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity. This year especially has been hard on our charities and any support would be much appreciated."

Watford Observer:

Lawrence and his three sons

Mr Wiffin added: "Next month marks ten years since I underwent life-changing surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital to correct a hole in my heart which was discovered at the age of 24.

"As a lad I always loved my sports but was never the fittest, I’ve since learned my heart was actually working overtime and chances are, if this defect wasn’t discovered I probably wouldn’t be here now."

So far, Mr Wiffin has raised £2,000 which will help providing funding for staff, patients, and equipment at Harefield Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital.

Watford Observer:

Gill Raikes, chief executive of Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, said: "I’m really pleased that Lawrence has done this amazing challenge to raise funds for our two hospitals.

"So many patients have a lifelong connection to our hospitals due to the excellent care that our staff give all our patients.

"I am really glad that Lawrence is marking ten years since his operation by raising funds for the thousands of patients like him our NHS colleagues are helping each year."