During January, members of Brightlingsea Regent Football Club set their sights on keeping fit for a potential restart of the football season by running or cycling miles every day. Manager Tommy Austin and head coach Ryan Salter kept a league table running to keep it competitive for the players.

Ryan said: “We then started to think about how we could support the town and people within Brightlingsea at the same time and how could we raise some awareness of mental and physical health during these really testing times.

“We decided to set up a running, cycling and walking league where anybody could join and it was to encourage people to get out and exercise and get some fresh air, we then linked this in with the fantastic charity which is Brightlingsea WinterFest and we are extremely proud to announce we raised £200.

“On that note we would like to place on record that we are extremely grateful to everybody that did donate, we understand that this is a very difficult time for everybody so we would like to thank every single person that contributed towards the league table as well as donating.”

First team player and Brightlingsea lad Charlie Durling, who ran over 120 miles, said: “Myself and my teammates were extremely proud to be able to help Winterfest who do a great job in the community. It was also a great way to keep fit and also keep sane during these tough times.”

With well over 300 hours of exercise completed and over 3000 miles covered the club hopes to have helped lots of people, even if it was just in a small way. Club captain Pip Boyland added: “It was so good and inspiring for us as players to see lots of fans and club members out exercising and keeping fit during such a testing time, we all hope to be back soon and whether its competitive fixtures, friendlies or training we look forward to paying the community back with some positive results and performances.”