A PERSONAL trainer ran solo for 15 miles on Christmas Day to raise money to tackle loneliness.

Tim Nokes, who splits his time between Bournemouth and London, embarked on the challenge in the city to raise money for WaveLength.

The charity gives TVs and radios to people who have become lonely through a range of difficult circumstances including the death of a loved one, illness, injury, disability, homelessness or domestic abuse.

Tim said: “I find Christmas a very hard time of year. I spent a lot of time on my own. This year I wanted to use that feeling to change my situation and embrace being on my own and turn it into a positive to help people far less fortunate than I am.

“I have always been into fitness and have used it to treat my own mental health problems. I decided on the idea of running on Christmas Day and raising money for a worthwhile cause. Putting off my Christmas dinner for a few hours seemed like the least I could do.”

Tim started his run at the Imperial War Museum, crossing over the Thames to the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall before running towards Buckingham Palace, along Oxford Street and towards St Paul’s Cathedral.

He added: "As this was about fighting my own loneliness, I decided it would be great to find a charity that worked against loneliness and its devastating effects."

Tim Leech, CEO of WaveLength said: “We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Tim Nokes for running 15 miles for WaveLength on Christmas Day. We know that Christmas can be a challenging time for people, so it’s fantastic to see Tim using his experiences to take positive action. Tim’s donations will allow WaveLength to continue giving technology to people who are lonely across the UK.”

So far Tim has raised £355 towards his £500 target. To make a donation, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/tim-nokes1