EX-RAF man David Downs put on a 50lbs rucksack to jog and walk 50 miles non-stop round the same reservoir to prove a point to his girlfriend ... and raise charity cash.

The former RAF Regiment Gunner from Honley jogged and walked 50 miles non-stop carrying a 50lb rucksack.

David, who was raising money for Help for Heroes, lapped Digley Reservoir near Holmfirth 41.6 times in just 13 hours 42 minutes.

The 31-year-old, who has seen frontline duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he had taken on the challenge to prove to his girlfriend he still had the fitness levels he acquired in the military.

He said: “I’ve just come out of the forces and I haven’t had time to go to the gym so I made a bet with my girlfriend, Laura, that I could get my fitness back.

“I started at 1am and did most of it on my own, so there was no-one there to push me, except for some Sunday walkers.

“It was a bit of battle with myself to get my old military head back on and push myself.”

David, who now works rehabilitating unruly school children, raised more than £700.