A DARLINGTON police sergeant will run 150 miles through the Sahara Desert to raise money for a local hospice despite being bedridden with cancer just six months ago.

Grant McTaggart is competing in the Marathon des Sables, billed as the ‘toughest footrace on earth’, with the hope of raising at least £1,000 for St Teresa’s Hospice on Woodland Road.

Runners must cover 150 miles across six days while also coping with blisters, dehydration and heatstroke brought on by the searing heat.

Sgt McTaggart, 49, was training for the race when he was bedridden with bowel cancer last August.

He said: “I was diagnosed with bowel cancer out of the blue.

“I ended up having a tumour removed and part of my colon.

“I thought I’d have to defer it for a year. But I ended up making a really smooth recovery.”

The race begins in Morocco and covers the equivalent of six marathons in six days through treacherous rocky terrain and sinking sand dunes.

Competitors had to carry their own supplies and the only thing they would be given was water.

Sgt McTaggart said: “Each day it’s all about getting to the shade.

“When you’re out in the sun it can get to about 55 degrees.

“You carry your own equipment and food and there are no showers or anything like that.”

In a race as “gruelling” as the Marathon des Sables, Sgt McTaggart said it was likely many runners would not make it to the finish line.

“In those conditions you’ve got to be aware of the way your body is feeling,” he said.

“My goal is to make it back with my finisher’s medal.”

Daisy McTaggart, 21, was initially worried when her father told her about the race but said she had come to understand his reasons for doing it.

She said: “I’m really proud. I don’t know anyone else who would be willing to do that apart from my dad.

“He was certain that he wanted to do this for charity.”

More information on the event and Sgt McTaggart’s fundraising efforts could be found at: https://www.justgiving.com/Grant-McTaggart