Teacher's 'bum shuffle' marathon inspires pupils

A teacher who completed the London Marathon despite breaking his leg has inspired pupils and staff at his school to hold their own "bum shuffle marathon".

Adam Cunningham, 36, from Exeter, Devon was just 850m from the finish line when he was injured after side-stepping on a stray water bottle.

He shuffled on his bottom to cross the line, with help from marshals who protected him from runners.

Now staff and pupils at Exeter School where he teaches have held their own "bum shuffle marathon" to raise funds for Mr Cunningham's chosen cause, the British Heart Foundation.

Members of the Combined Cadet Force and staff did the bottom shuffle on wet grass on the school fields on Friday afternoon.

Mr Cunningham said: "Turning up to school on Friday was quite overwhelming.

"It was just amazing to see how the school came together like that."

He said if he had finished the marathon as planned then he was on target to raise up to £2,500 but the total had now reached more than £5,000.

One of his pupils, 16-year-old Joel, said: "My mum runs marathons but nothing like in the time that Adam does it and then to do the bum shuffle is incredibly impressive."

He said the challenge, which he took part in, was a "lot of work", joking that thankfully there were no water bottles involved on this occasion.

Mr Cunningham had been on track for a race time of three hours and 26 minutes before his injury.

Follow BBC Devon on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].