Northampton A&E nurse raising money for NHS coronavirus fund by running London Marathon...from her home

A nurse at Northampton General Hospital will be completing the cancelled London Marathon on a treadmill at home in support of the NHS coronavirus fund.

Stephanie Shea did not originally plan to run her fourth marathon for charity after getting a spot through the ballot but the Covid-19 pandemic changed her mind.

The 33-year-old senior nurse practitioner in A&E said: "People have been very supportive which is amazing, especially in such a short space of time."

Stephanie will be starting at 10am on Sunday (April 26) - the time she would have been setting off in the capital - but is unsure how long it will take her.

The longest run she has done on the treadmill was a half marathon which took her two and a half hours but she is concerned about being on the machine for too long.

The nurse is also looking into somehow recreating the atmosphere of the London marathon, which she believes is one of the best in the world.

"I'm planning on streaming my run so people can keep track and post comments which I'll be able to see, which will give me a boost," she said.

"In London the crowds are incredible and you go past all of the landmarks so I wanted to try to replicate that creatively to create an atmosphere."

Stephanie said A&E has been quieter during the coronavirus outbreak but emphasises that people who need emergency care should still come in.

She said she would go to the gym as a way of dealing with the stress of her job but has been unable to during the lockdown.

Fortunately her gym, Empowerment Training Centre in Queen's Park, has been supporting its customers online and many of them were behind her decision to do the marathon from home.

"Going to the gym is a big part of my life and how I cope with working in a hospital so it's been difficult not being able to go," she said.

"But it's an amazing gym and a lot of them wanted to sponsor me - it all started from there really as they wanted to help in some way and they set up the JustGiving page.

"It's a community and at times like these, it's really helped me both physically and mentally."

So far Stephanie has raised just over £900 having set her target at £200 on her JustGiving page.