A Weymouth man has designed a stay at home triathlon to raise money for the NHS.

John Burton is set to complete a 70.3 mile run, bike and swim, known commonly as a ‘Half Ironman’, all from his own home to respect social distancing guidelines.

The event, which takes place on May 3, consists of a 13.1 mile run, 655 laps of the garden, a 56 mile bike ride on a turbo trainer, and a 1.2 mile swim. In the absence of a pool, swimming will take place on a self-made swimming simulator, a contraption which consists of a weight bench, a set of dumbbells and some rope.

Mr Burton said: “My club arranges quite a few triathlon events throughout the year but unfortunately many of these have had to be cancelled due to the outbreak.

"I started thinking about whether I could find a way to do a 70.3 mile triathlon from home whilst raising money for the NHS which as we all know are doing an amazing job.

“As much as I love my garden I think I might get a bit fed up with the scenery, but I've been watching a lot of SAS programmes recently and it makes me think, 'come on I should be able to run round the garden a few times'.

“Besides, people have paid good money to see it happen so now I've got to do it.”

A Just Giving page has been set up with a target of raising £1,250 for the NHS. Mr Burton is also encouraging others to use his template and give his variation of the Half Ironman a try.

Mr Burton continued: “After less than a day £265 has been raised and we still have a week and a half to go. It's great that so many have supported me already and hopefully others will donate to such a worthy cause.”

If you wish to make a donation, please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-burton18.