A Falmouth man who suffered multiple strokes and a cardiac arrest has completed a 5K run to raise funds for the charity that helped him recover.

Andrew Martin raised over £450 for Connect Cornwall after completing the Mawnan Smith 5K run last month. In 2007 he suffered a brain stem stoke, second stroke and cardiac arrest, which left him unable to communicate or work for four months.

He was helped on his road to recovery by Connect Cornwall, a charity which supports people who have had a strokes or have Aphasia by offering a number of services such as hospital and home befriending, interest groups, conversation groups, drop-in groups and counselling.

Andrew, who is still receiving support from Connect Cornwall, said: “I wanted to run the Mawnan Smith fun run to raise money and awareness for Connect. After having the stroke the people at Connect helped me to recover, and I am so grateful for their support.”

Andrew was supported during the race by his sister, Nicole, who said: “This is a huge achievement for Andrew and I am so proud of him. To go from being unable to communicate for four months, to running a 5K race is really inspirational.” Andrew and Nicole completed the race in 46.08.

Alice Hosking, South West commissioned service manager at Connect, said: "Connect Cornwall just wants to acknowledge with grateful thanks the simply wonderful donation raised by Andy and his sister Nicole. Without the dedication and support of individuals like Andy and Nicole we simply would not be able to offer the support we do for people for living with Stroke and Aphasia - communication difficulties.

“As a small charity we are continually inspired by the generosity of donors like Andy who answer the call to give again and again.”

To support Andrew visit https://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Martin581.