Swindon facilities manager Howard Hollister stepped out for Sports Relief – and he and his colleagues raised more than £450 in a day of activities.

Howard, who works at Vygon (UK) Ltd in Latham Road, ‘paced himself’ for Sports Relief, using a pedometer to count his steps while staff paid to guess how many paces he took during his working day.

In total the Cirencester resident, who has worked for Vygon for 27 years, took 11,992 steps which equated to nearly three-and-a-half miles. And he said Friday was actually a ‘less active’ day than normal.

Howard said: “This is a large building and I am on my feet all day. It was a good fundraising idea and with other events we raised a total of £453 for Sports Relief.”

The winner of Howard’s pacing event was Christina Campbell, from the VYSET Customer Pack team who guessed 11,824 steps. She won a three course Sunday lunch prize donated by Cricklade House Hotel.

As well as Howard’s walk, the Vygon staff ran a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses including passes for David Lloyd Leisure, a golf day at South Cerney Golf Club and a spa experience at Cricklade House Hotel Spa. An Xbox ski challenge event was also held with the top three winners taking home an Easter egg.