Paisley soldier Stephen Connor is a ‘local hero’ to the children’s charity which is currently helping three-year-old Ellie Goodwin sleep in safety.

Warrant Officer Class One Stephen, aged 37, is a careers manager at the Army personnel centre in Glasgow. He is taking on the gruelling 26.2-mile challenge of the London Marathon and the 53 mile Highland Fling – along the West Highland Way route – next month, to raise money for Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children.

Newlife is the charity which is helping Ellie, from Linthouse in Glasgow, get a good night’s sleep by providing a £10,000 specialist bed to keep her safe. Previously, she had spent months sleeping in a car seat.

Mum Isabella Murray said: “Ellie has no awareness of danger and decreased sensitivity to pain. Once she could climb out of her cot she would do some really dangerous things, like wrap wires round her neck. The only way we could keep her safe at night was to put her in her car seat and then put that inside her cot; it was the only way we could monitor her.”

Having provided the bed for Ellie, Newlife appealed for ‘local heroes’ to come forward to fundraise to help other disabled and terminally ill children across Scotland. The charity is currently working with the families of seven children in Scotland, with equipment needs totalling £26,467.

Stephen has stepped forward to do his bit. His entry into the London Marathon comes just 13 days before he tackles the 53-mile Highland Fling – along the route of the West Highland Way – ‘for fun’.

Stephen said: “I had already decided to tackle the Highland Fling, so thought I would put all my training to good use by offering to run the London Marathon for Newlife. To prepare, I am currently running the six miles each way from home in Paisley to work in Glasgow city centre – and my boss likes to send me off on a six mile jog each lunch time. Last Sunday I managed 20 miles – so I am optimistic that I will be able to complete the marathon. Knowing that I will be running for such a good cause will spur me on. Like thousands of other people, I read the story in the Daily Record and I wanted to help Newlife support other Scottish families like Ellie’s.”

If you would like to support Stephen, go to his JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/stephenconnor747 – and donate.

To find out more about Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and its range of equipment grant and loan services, go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk

Pictured: ‘local hero’ Stephen Connor.

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