A GRIEVING father will run 130 miles in five consecutive days on a fundraising challenge in memory of his stillborn daughter.

Lee Ocean, of Popley Way, Popley, Basingstoke, will take on the five marathons in five days on roads around the town next year to raise money for stillbirth charities Sands and Tommy’s.

It was on March 9 last year that the 33-year-old lost his daughter Imogen.

He said his then pregnant partner went to Basingstoke hospital after the due date, complaining that she felt reduced movement.

Two days later, after another trip to the hospital, an ultrasound confirmed the unborn baby had died. The couple then went through the process of an induced labour and birth of their stillborn daughter.

Unfortunately the couple’s relationship broke down in the months that followed, Lee said.

Although a private person, the sales manager said taking on the running challenge has helped him come out and speak about what he went through.

He said: “I am incredibly proud of my daughter, and although she’s not here, I am proud to say I was the first to hold her and bathe her.

“I sometimes burst into tears when I’m out running. It keeps reminding me that I was really lucky to have a daughter.”

Lee said he is receiving training from Kathy Read, the former British Olympic swimmer who is now a personal trainer based in the New Forest.

He is currently finalising the routes of his runs, although he said his first one will start in Basingstoke town centre and the last one may involve finishing at Farnborough, where the local branch of the Sands charity is based.

He said: “Physically, I am in a place where I know I will be able to run a marathon or two. But mentally, running on my own for five hours a day, that’s what I will find really difficult.”

To sponsor Lee, visit justgiving.com/Lee Ocean 07.