AUCTIONEER and antique expert Philip Serrell is not known for being one of Nature's racing snakes. So when a charity effort to raise money for St Richard's Hospice involved a bit of running, the chunky TV personality enlisted some help.

He persuaded, cajoled and arm twisted 19 friends and colleagues take part in the Worcester Half Marathon and run as Team Serrell Fat Boys and Pretty Girls. The blackmail/threats/carrots were obviously worthwhile, because the team is now close to topping £10,000 with money still coming in.

Mr Serrell, who is a St Richard’s Hospice patron, was joined by antique experts and fellow television celebrities Thomas Plant, Jonathan Pratt and Will Farmer, as well as colleagues from his Malvern auction house, plus former professional rugby players Steve Lloyd and Neil Lyman.

He said: "All of us that took part had trained hard for the event and were happy with the race times we achieved. We enjoyed it so much we have decided we would like to do another event for the hospice next year. This was by far the longest run most of us had attempted but we all felt that crossing the finish line was a huge achievement. I am by no means an athlete and my first priority on the day was to raise as much money as possible and then to finish the race in one piece – in that order."