A 68-year-old director at Redhill's East Surrey Hospital finished a remarkable tenth in an epic 100km cross-country event recently.

John Power covered a total of 108km (67 miles) and crossed the finish line in just under 21 hours.

His feat raised nearly £2000 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The non-executive director at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust joined around 1000 starters for the BHF London to Brighton Trek last month.

Lacing up his trainers in Esher, the senior officer in the Parachute Regiment Reserves ran through the night across the North and South Downs.

This was the longest distance the Purley resident had attempted since a parachute accident in 2004 left him with four metal plates and 24 screws in his body.

John said: “I was clearly the oldest by far so I was absolutely astonished to come in tenth, and with such a good time.”

He said: “I think around half the people failed to complete the course as it is very demanding to keep going for over 100km non-stop and navigate the Downs on a pitch black night.” He added: “Heart disease is still our biggest killer with one person dying every six minutes in the UK so it was wonderful to be able to raise money for such an excellent cause.”

People can still donate to John's fundraising page online at: www.justgiving.com/John-power-para Website: www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk