Hartlepool fundraiser Tony is a one-sie off

When he took on a charity challenge to get from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a pick-up truck inside a day, he decided that wasn’t enough of a task.

So he did it all in a pink onesie.

Then, he had to wear it all the way back to Hartlepool, because it was the only outfit he had with him.

But big-hearted Tony and his friend William Mundell raised £700 to be shared between town charities Families First and the Sea Cadets.

And he’s also got a lifetime of memories, including being stuck on the M6 in a traffic jam for more than three hours with every other driver looking at him.

Along the way, the pair completed challenges including being hoisted into the air on a cherry picker and spending an hour in a police cell.

And then when it was all over, the two men attracted even more glances when they went into a local supermarket in John O’ Groats to get their breakfast, still in the onesie.

“Well I wasn’t going to go without my breakfast. I needed it to get home,” Tony explained.

And he described some of the highlights of Challenge Mannica which he and William completed in under 20 hours.

“I’ve had mini buses full of people hanging out the windows and looking at me,” said the Hartlepool man. “Some even got the drivers to stop so they could shout at us.

“I probably would not do it again, but I really enjoyed it.”

Tony is no stranger to charity efforts. In the last year alone, he has:

l Built an A-Frame to collect all the Teddy Bears and flowers which were donated by the public during the Follow The Balloons event, held for tragic two-year-old Jacob Jenkins.

l Played a part, along with fellow community campaigner Stephen Picton, in the seafront bench which was unveiled as a tribute to Jacob.

l Was part of Team Teesside which helped flood victims in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire.

Now he is planning his next big event, which will be a charity car wash on the May bank holiday in Hartlepool.