A Royal Navy sailor has run a mile around the deck of HMS Westminster to raise money for charity Sports Relief. Hampshire resident Paul Batten, 33, raised over a thousand pounds by running round the 133m (463ft) ship wearing a 20kg(45lb) firefighting suit. The weapons engineering mechanic, who is on service in the Gulf, said:
‘I wanted to be a part of Sports Relief, but as I knew we would be many miles from home, I decided to run my own mile… to raise more money, I chose to run it in full firefighting kit!’

Sports Relief is a joint venture by the BBC and Comic Relief that aims to raise funds to improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable worldwide. Thousands of Brits will be running a mile tomorrow to raise money for the charity.

Having completed his Sport Relief mile, Mr Batten now hopes to run a marathon, equating to 182 laps of the ship, whose motto is ‘For Nation and for Glory.’