An Army major is running the entire length of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in just five days to raise money for injured ex-servicemen.

Major Mark Stansfield set off from Leeds to Skipton today on the first leg of the event and is running the equivalent of a marathon every day until Friday when he hopes to reach Liverpool.

He is being helped along the 127-mile route by three Army colleagues and hopes to raise £10,000 for the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association (Blesma).

He said he wanted to do something for the charity after a couple of close friends were killed in Afghanistan.

“I decided I wanted to do something more, something bigger to help our young servicemen and women who sustain horrific and life changing injuries,” he said.

“Blesma is a fantastic charity that gives our lads and lasses a bit of normality in their lives and helps them get back on track.”

Major Stansfield, 47, who is with the 103 regiment Royal Artillery based in the North West and is known by his colleagues as Big Stan, has been busy training for the event with early morning runs before work and running with weights.

“I’m no Eddie Izzard, but I want to complete each race in less than five hours and so long as I can remain injury free from the start in Leeds, I can finish in style in Liverpool,” he said.

He will be collecting money along the route and has opened up an online account with JustGiving.

To support Maj Stansfield go to justgiving.com/bigstansmonstermarathonevent