A DETERMINED dad is taking on three exhausting challenges in support of two charities that have offered invaluable support to his children.

Over the coming months Andrew Astill, a 48-year-old project manager from Mulberry Drive, Upton-upon-Severn, will be taking part in the Worcester Marathon, the Upton Triathlon and the Crowle 10k race. His efforts will be raising money for the Children’s Chronic Arthritis Association (CCAA) and Olivia’s Vision, a charity helping people suffering with uveitis – a painful condition affecting the eyes.

Mr Astill’s younger son Laurence, aged 16, was first diagnosed with both arthritis and uveitis when he was just eight.

Both are auto-immune conditions, where the sufferer’s immune system is overactive, causing it to attack the body by mistake, and Laurence has to give himself weekly injections of strong medicine to keep it suppressed.

Although medication has stopped the arthritis from getting any worse, the uveitis is still prone to flaring up, sometimes requiring hourly use of steroid eye drops and even steroid injections straight into the eye socket. His older brother Will, 20, is currently studying theoretical physics at Sussex University.

He suffered from juvenile arthritis but eventually grew out of it. However, it has left him with collapsed arches in his feet and he is now waiting for keyhole surgery to help alleviate the problem.

About one in 1,000 children suffer with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), while 80 per cent of childhood uveitis occurrences are linked to pre-existing or yet to be diagnosed cases of the condition.

Mr Astill said: “Being diagnosed with uveitis and/or JIA is bewildering for children and parents alike. Most of us have never heard of these diseases until the day a doctor tells us we have one of them.

“Both conditions can strike at any age, and take one of several forms, but what is similar is the pain and frustration that affects the child, and the feeling of disbelief that affects the whole family.”

He has been training hard for his challenges, which start with the Worcester Marathon on Sunday, April 15, before the Crowle 10k on Sunday, May 13 and Upton Triathlon on Saturday, July 14.

Anyone who would like to support Mr Astill can donate online at http:// uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndrewAstill.