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Thomas Dale, from Shotton Colliery, plans to jog a mile a day from Saturday, August 1, to raise funds for Sunderland charity 4Louis, marking his sixth birthday on the fifth day of his feat.

His brother Jayden died on July 17, 2013, when mum Zoe was 24-weeks pregnant, with the family since working to set up Shotton’s Little Angels, a network of parents who work to support each other through baby loss.

Leeds United fan and Shotton Colts Under 7s player Thomas has already raised £1,280 for the charity, which also supports families through the death of a baby, and will also be remembering his grandmother Susan Carol Banks, who died of cancer last August aged 52.

Thomas Dale is to run 17 miles in memory of his big brother Jayden, who died when their mother Zoe was pregnant at 24 weeks.

Zoe, 24, and husband John, 29, are also parents to Jack, four, and hope their community get behind Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School pupil Thomas, with as many people as possible invited to turn out on his last day to clap and cheer him over the line as he completes his lap at Shotton Park at around 5.30pm.

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Zoe said: “Thomas has always known about Jayden and we talk about Jayden all the time and Thomas goes to his grave and speaks to him.

"He came and said to me that he wanted to raise some money for Jayden and we talked about what he wanted to do and we said why don’t you run around Shotton Park.

Thomas Dale pictured with his late grandmother Susan Carol Banks and his grandad Gordon Banks.

"It’s a big field and he’s going to do a mile around it every day.

"Thomas is really excited about it and keeps asking me to look at the Just Giving page to see how much is on their now.

"It’s lovely to see the total going up and now much it’s pushing him on.

"He’s had a hard year because my mam passed away last August and she and Thomas were really close and with the lockdown and not being able to go to school.”

Thomas Dale with tributes to his much-loved grandmother Susan Carol Banks.

The target of 17 miles has been chosen as Jayden’s birthday was July 17.

Anyone who would like to add to fund can donate via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anne-marie-banks1.

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Football fan Thomas Dale will be raising money for 4Louis through his runs.

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Five-year-old to take on mammoth running challenge to honour his late big brother

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.