Powerlifter David Gray completes 1,000 bodyweight box squats for charity

The Wolverhampton strongman succeeded in completing 1,000 bodyweight box squats in tandem with Walsall fitness instructor Craig Timmins.

The pair were inspired to put their bodies through the mill to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of a former colleague who died from the disease last year.

Sue Winter, a maths teacher at Midpoint Centre Pupil Referral Unit, Wolverhampton, passed away in the summer holidays. Now the school has planned a year of fundraising in her name.

David, of Wednesfield, a design and technology teacher at the school, became world champion in Finland last June – smashing six world records in the process.

But he said: "Doing repetitions is very different from the competition work I do. My knee joints were really feeling it at the end. I had to soak in a long bath afterwards."

He and Bloxwich-based Craig, a sports teacher at the Orchard Centre on the same campus, performed 500 squats each, lifting weights of up to 80kgs, over two and a half hours. He holds the world title in the Masters 66kg category.

Fellow teachers and friends turned up at the Muscle Masters Gym in Wolverhampton to cheer them on.

Craig trained for two weeks prior to attempting the feat and ate a hearty carb-heavy breakfast of lamb, sweet potatoes, dumplings and rice before starting.

He said: "We took it in turns to do 10 squats, taking a breather of a minute to a minute and a half while the other one was taking the load. We kept going because it's such a good cause.

"Sue was a lovely person and only in her 50s. It was a shock when she passed away because we didn't know she was ill. It was not long before she was due to retire.

"We hope to raise £1,000 from our challenge and other fundraising events are planned by the school throughout the year."