Shropshire runner taking to the streets for brave Emmy

Mr Gorton wants to raise £2,000 for five-year-old Emmy Taylor, who was the victim of a fire in 2011, by taking on the Liverpool Half Marathon.

During a holiday in Barmouth, Gwynedd, Emmy suffered 65 per cent burns in a caravan blaze that claimed the lives of her uncle Andrew, 26, and grandfather Robert, 57.

Since then, Emmy has required repeated operations for her injuries at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and will continue to need extensive treatment throughout her life.

Mr Gorton, from Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere, has already raised 76 per cent of his fundraising target for the challenge, which takes place on Sunday, March 29.

The runner, who owns a haulage firm Aaron Logistics in Overton-on-Dee, said: "Emmy is a wonderful and brave little girl who will have to have operations, including multiple skin grafts, for the rest of her life, but every day, her spirit and determination shines through.

"I stopped smoking and drinking and have been training with the support of Vicky Leese, from Physique Fitness Studio in Whitchurch, since the beginning of the year.

"The money that l am raising will help to pay for the procedures and treatments that are not available on the NHS, but that Emmy will continuously have to endure."

Emmy, from Flint, has undergone more than 100 trips to theatre in her short life.

Her father Ian Taylor said: "Emmy is currently back in hospital as, unfortunately, the recent skin graft operation that she underwent a couple of weeks ago was unsuccessful, so she is having to go through the whole procedure again.

"It is a big setback, but she just keeps on going and has been amazing – she still has a smile on her face every day."

• To donate to Mr Gorton’s marathon challenge go to https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/8vtd1