Toddler inspires dad's 24-hour tennis marathon

A man said his son was the driving force for his 24 hours of non-stop competitive tennis in aid of two charities.

Pete Cleverly played 24 doubles matches between 09:00 GMT on Friday and 09:00 on Saturday at Frinton-on-Sea Lawn Tennis Club in Essex.

Impressively, he won 19 of those matches.

The challenge raised more than £13,000 for Steps Charity Worldwide and the Colchester Hospital neonatal intensive care unit, which both helped his son Billy who has clubfoot.

The condition, officially known as structural bilateral talipes, affects the movement and position of babies' feet.

It affects roughly one in 1,000 babies, according to the NHS.

"The driving force was our amazing little son who has been through the mill and back, but if you look at him, you would never know."

Mr Cleverly said he did not dare sit down during the 24 hours, through fear he may not be able to stand back up again.

In total, 47 players competed with him.

He said every game started on the hour and finished a few minutes before the next one, which gave him the chance to eat, drink and change while his opponent warmed up.

"I think I had maybe five or six quick trips to the loo," he said, speaking to BBC Essex Sport Extra.

"It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, physically I knew it was going to be tough, but the mental and emotional strain, especially in the early hours between 01:00 and 04:00, I was not expecting to feel the way I felt."

Mr Cleverly more than doubled the family's fundraising target of £5,000.

He said his son, now 17 months old, was now "thriving".

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