TWO members of a town gym have raised thousands for charity by taking on a gruelling walking challenge.

Anytime Fitness, in Witham, has donated almost £2,000 following a marathon treadmill charity walk by two of its members.

Over the course of 17 hours, Andy Lindop and Mark Stevens walked an impressive 60 miles each on the club’s treadmills.

The appeal saw donations flood in and the pair raised a total of £1,900, with £1,000 donated to mental health charity, Mind, and £900 to Witham Town FC Soccability.

The gym says Mind is a charity close to their hearts, while Andy is a coach at Witham Town’s Soccability centre, which provides free football participation for young people, regardless of disability or ability.

With the project being completely self-funded, the fundraising will help the club who are using the cash for an all-expenses paid day trip for its members.

READ MORE >> Primary school joins ongoing project by planting dozens of trees for jubilee

The pair chose to take on the challenge after a close friend of Andy passed away in 2021.

His friend was a huge Liverpool FC supporter, and the duo wanted to raise money in honour of him and at the same time mark a tribute to the tragic 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

They came up with the challenge of a 97km walk, honouring the number of Liverpool supporters that sadly lost their lives as a result of the disaster.

As well as gathering donations through an online JustGiving page, the club held a raffle with a ride range of prizes donated by the Witham community.

Anytime Fitness manager Jay Gains said: “We’re incredibly proud of Andy and Mark’s amazing achievement.

“When they came to us with the idea of the challenge, we were keen to do everything we could to help them raise as much money as possible.

“Their friends and family, alongside our members, were so supportive and it was great to see so many people in the club throughout the challenge, including in the early hours, cheering them both on.

“It’s amazing to see the money that’s been raised and we’d like to thank everyone for their generosity.”