Sunderland 10K: Big Pink Dress fundraiser blown away by generosity of city as he raises hundreds for St Benedict's Hospice

Colin Burgin-Plews at the Sunderland 10k.

The 50-year-old charity champ took on both the Siglion Sunderland 5k and 10k events at the weekend with the aim of raising around £500 for St Benedict's Hospice.

The charity provides specialist palliative care to the people of Sunderland and surrounding districts.

Colin Burgin-Plews collecting charity cash and meeting supporters along the Sunderland 10k route.

During the 10k event, the South Shields dad wore one of his iconic dresses, this time adorned with yellow flowers to represent the chosen charity.

Completing the race in one hour and 51 minutes, Colin said he was blown away by the hundreds of pounds put into his collection bucket along the 10k route on Sunday.

He said: "I was a bit worried a couple of days before the race as I had still not hit the target, but I put a post up and then everyone started donating.

"I raised around £585 online and around £600 in the buckets on the day.

Colin Burgin-Plews wearing his latest creation inspired by charity St Benedict's Hospice.

"So there is well over £1,000, which is just amazing.

"People were putting £10 and £20 in, it was just amazing.

"I have never seen so much money going into a bucket."

And Colin's kind-hearted efforts didn't stop there, he even doubled back on course to return a lost half marathon number after spotting it on the course, adding around 20 minutes onto his time.

He continued: "The day was really good fun, I loved every second of it.

"It was a definite highlight of the year, and its amazing to see how generous people are in the North East.

"It's just incredible. It's not a rich part of the country, but when there is something people really care about they will help as much as possible."

Colin is now gearing up to take on a 22 mile walk in aid of the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Foundation this Sunday, with each mile representing a life that was lost following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

He will start doing laps around Bents Park in South Shields at 7.30am, with the aim of completing a total of 20 laps to cover the distance.

The challenge aims to raise funds and awareness of the charity which works to help people reach their potential through the love of sport and performance.