Housing boss builds on running success

A Black Country housing boss is pounding a town's pavements in preparation for a charity run in America.

Graham Robinson, an auditor at Accord Housing Association, West Bromwich, will run the Boston Marathon on April 20 after conquering the London, New York and Berlin races.

The 45-year-old father-of-two, of Sutton Coldfield, works at Accord's West Bromwich office and is aiming to raise £1,600 through sponsorship for the NSPCC.

Graham Robinson, who has worked for Accord for 15 years, said: "I'm really looking forward to taking on the challenge of the Boston Marathon as it's the most historic and challenging of the World Marathon Majors, made up of the London, New York, Boston, Chicago and Berlin marathons.

"I've been training really hard – often going for runs on my lunch break – and my colleagues at Accord have all been really supportive.

"My goal is to raise £1,600 to fund the recruitment and training of a volunteer child councillor for the NSPCC." The NSPCC was chosen by staff from a list of more than 80 UK charities to be the official Accord Group charity of the year.

Richard Shawcross, fundraising executive for NSPCC, added: "Sadly we can only currently answer one third of the 2.3 million calls made each year.

"With the support of people like Graham, we will be able to train more volunteers and answer more calls to children who have no-one."