A TESCO store manager who walked 100km in tribute to his eight-year-old daughter has raised £140,000 for Julia's House children's hospice.

Justin Kline, undertook the marathon 24-hour challenge, visiting 33 stores in Dorset, in recognition of the care the charity gave his daughter Sophie before she died of a brain tumour.

He and his wife Janice presented the cheque at an open day at the Corfe Mullen hospice where they were joined by other Tesco staff who had supported him.

"Sophie never had to spend a single night in hospital thanks to Julia's House," said Justin, who manages the Weymouth store. "It meant so much to us to be able to keep Sophie at home. Having Sophie in my mind kept me going during the walk.

"I was overwhelmed by the response of everyone - not just the local Tesco stores that were on the route but the support from other stores all over the UK."

During his 62-mile walk in September he was joined by seven Tesco colleagues who walked the whole route while another 40 joined him for shorter sections.

Sophie's parents presented the cheque to senior team nurse Claire Hudson-Cooper who helped nurse the youngster in her final days.

"What happened to Sophie's family could happen to anyone," said Claire.

"Our job is to make the difficult bearable for those families. To give them all the support they need in the way they need it. To give them back some control and some choice over the care their child needs.

“The wonderful thing about the money Justin has raised is that it is going to help fund more nurses to enable more children like Sophie stay out of hospital and at home with their families.”

Janice said: “We could not have coped without the support of Claire on the last day. She got us through. A child in that situation needs to feel safe and loved and not feel afraid. Julia’s House helped Sophie to feel just that.”

Martin Edwards, chief executive of Julia’s House said: "We want to say a big thank you to Justin and everyone involved in this amazing achievement. It shows that out of the worst of times people can come together and do something truly special.”