Harold Wood's Stephen Banham-Scott played his part in a gruelling John O'Groats to Land's End challenge recently.

The 25-year-old joined university friend Cian Adams and his elder brother Jordan as they ran the length of the UK in support of Alzheimer's Research UK.

The siblings, who have become known as the FTD Brothers after being diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia in their early 20s, took on the ultra challenge throughout the month of September.

And former Harold Wood Primary and Redden Court pupil Banham-Scott, who completed his first-ever London Marathon in under three and a half hours earlier this year as part of team Alzheimer’s Research UK, travelled to the West Country to run alongside them for two days.

"I met the boys on Monday, September 23 at Milbury Heath, just north of Bristol," he said.

“On a day when Somerset had a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours, we made it to Axbridge [near Cheddar], covering around 50km in total.

"It was tough, but I was doing it for such a great cause, while also supporting the boys, who had been running for three weeks already."

After recovering at the home of close family who live nearby, Banham-Scott was back out the following morning for the next leg of the adventure.

"Thankfully there was much less rain, but the day turned out to be much longer. The boys' dad Glenn - who was following on his bike - suffered three punctures along the way," added Banham-Scott, who is player-manager of Harold Wood Athletic FC's Brentwood Sunday League side.

"We chalked up another 50k, though, and I felt a great sense of achievement as we arrived in Wellington that night."

As the West Ham United fan returned to his day job in London, his friends continued through Devon and Cornwall to reach Land's End on October 1, before being whisked away to the BBC TV studios in Manchester to tell their story.

Jordan took to Instagram afterwards, posting: "Thank you to @bbcbreakfast for following our epic journey this month.

"This hugely important coverage has helped as spread awareness all over the UK whilst raising over £220,000 including gift aid.

"This money will go directly to @alzheimersresearchuk the leading UK charity for finding treatments that we hope will cure dementia in the future.

"It's been a long month and to those who have followed out story and been captivated by our journey, we thank you. Without the support of the community none of what we have achieved would have been possible.

"Moving forward, we will be looking to continue our advocacy as 'The FTD Brothers' by starting our journey as key note public speakers."

Banham-Scott added: "For these lads to be dealt such an unfortunate hand but channel it into such a hopeful and inspiring message is incredible. I hope to continue supporting their cause, funding the research for a cause of all forms of Dementia in the future.”

To find out more, visit theftdbrothers.com or follow @jord_adams on Instagram.