A RAF veteran from Worcester will be taking on a gruelling 12-hour punch bag challenge to raise funds for the Acorns Children’s Hospice.

39-year-old Rob Marrow has already raised more than £400 for the charity, and he is aiming to raise as much as possible when he takes on the challenge, which will take place at Perdiswell Leisure Centre, as soon as the second coronavirus lockdown comes to an end.

All money raised will go to Acorns, who provide care for children with terminal and life threatening illnesses.

Rob, who was in the RAF for six years and served a six month tour in Afghanistan, said: “I will be starting on the punch bag at 7am and finishing at 7PM.

“This challenge was supposed to happen on November 28 but will now happen as soon as possible.

“I have raised over £400 so far but would love to raise more.

“I did the same challenge last year and raised £1000 for CALM, a suicide prevention charity.”

“ I will take short breaks for drinks and food but otherwise I aim to be active on the punch bag for the whole time.

“Last time I did this it was very challenging, causing a lot of pain in my elbows which took me a long time to recover fully from. The gym have kindly agreed to section off the area with the punch bag for me.

“My aim is to raise £750 and I’ve had some very generous donations so far but I would love to raise as much as possible.”

Rob said he has chosen Acorns because of the great work that they do.

“As a dad of two young kids myself I couldn’t contemplate going through what these families are and I think it’s important to help where we can,” said Rob.

“I also want to set an example to my kids of helping others and pushing yourself.

“During the first lockdown my son learned to ride his bike without stabilisers and within a few weeks he rode 10km to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“I learned to box while in the RAF and carried on with training after leaving and I teach boxercise part time.

“While this is a physically demanding challenge it’s also very tough mentally to keep going for that length of time and push through the pain barrier as well as keeping focus to maintain good technique to prevent injuries.”

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