A BUSINESSMAN from Eyton hopes his running exploits will raise over £3,500 for a hospice which cared for his wife.

Mark Lewis knocked three minutes off his PB when he completed the Erddig 10k as a tribute to his wife, Jayne, who he lost to cancer last June, and Wrexham's Nightingale House Hospice.

His fundraising total already stands at £1,720, but he hopes that figure will at least be doubled when contributions from his fellow runners are accounted for.

The father-of-two was joined by his daughter, Rowena, sister-in-law Sue Williams and friend Elaine Langley for last Sunday's race.

He was inundated with generous donations from customers at the family business, Lewis’s Farm Shop, which his wife ran before her illness.

"I am so grateful to customers who have come into the shop and sponsored me, while I've had donations from those who have seen the appeal on Facebook," said Mark who set up a JustGiving page.

"It's been really very humbling that so many people have helped out such a good cause.

"Nightingale House is such a local charity and they were so kind and helpful. Jayne was admitted for the last few days of her life and the staff were so loving and caring towards her and my family. Nothing was too much trouble and they made a difficult time easier."

Mrs Lewis, who was 52, was raised at Bank Farm in Bangor-On-Dee and met Mark at the Young Farmers' Club.

She established the farm shop after she and her husband began selling lamb from the family's farm in the early 2000s.

Mark, 55, keeps trim taking part in park runs, but ensured he was ready for last weekend's event by undertaking a practice run at the Whitchurch10k last month.

"I was quite pleased with my time. I do keep myself fit, but I did the Whitchurch 10k to see how I would cope with the distance and then decided to do Erddig," he said.

And Mark added: "I find it difficult to comprehend how much Nightingale House has to raise. It is 80 per cent of its income and yet the staff take the burden off the NHS system because patients can be receiving care for a long time."