A runner who set off down the A9 on Monday morning on a world record-breaking bid to run for 355 miles without sleep has stopped due to illness.
Former soldier Dave Moretta, of Blackburn in Lancashire, had hoped to smash the current record of 350 miles by completing the exhausting journey from Inverness to Preston in aid of Poppyscotland and The Royal British Legion.
But the 28-year-old, described as the real life Forrest Gump, took ill somewhere south of Kingussie at about 5am on Tuesday.
Yesterday while talking on a Lancashire radio station, Mr Moretta said he was 25 miles behind his target of running 100 miles a day and the task of making up that time was too difficult.
He said that only one in five of such expeditions succeeds but hinted that he would like to do another challenge in aid of the charities, but does not know when and what that might be.
Mr Moretta’s aim was to run for four days and nights without sleep from the Highland capital to Preston – the equivalent of completing 13 London marathons one after the other.
The challenge parallels the 90s hit movie, where the good-hearted Forrest Gump runs for days on end across America and has various life changing experiences along the way.
Mr Moretta hoped to raise £10,000 with his mammoth challenge after the legion helped him when he left the Army in 2008. They gave him food vouchers and helped with payments for his car insurance after his courier firm collapsed.
The father of two raised £7,000 for the legion in November 2013 by running 18 marathons in 18 days across Lancashire in memory of 18 soldiers from the county who lost their lives in Afghanistan.
Inverness was chosen as the starting point because it is an area with a high serving and ex-service population.
Leigh Smith, spokeswoman for Poppyscotland, said: “He got off to a great start on Monday but early on Tuesday morning he took ill and had to pull out. We are wishing him all the best.
“He has done a number of challenges in the past but was really keen on this one. Obviously if it is something he wants to do again in due course then that would be great.”