THE loss of his three-week-old child and a tour of a Worcester hospice spurred technology specialist Ed Baker into a three-year fundraising campaign.

Mr Baker, who works for Microsoft UK, has so far collected £9,000 for Acorns Children’s Hospice and recently handed over his latest cheque of £659. He has run the Wolverhampton and London marathons, several half-marathons and taken part in other gruelling activities to raise sponsorship money.

In 1989 Mr Baker's second child, Heather, was born with a congenital heart condition. At the time the family lived in Hampshire where there wasn’t a local children’s hospice and they were sent home without the support they needed.

Mr Baker, who now lives in Redditch, said: “There wasn’t a children’s hospice nearby so we had to travel from hospital to home and back again. We were stuck on a hospital children’s ward with no facilities for families. When the ward became full we had to take Heather home and administer morphine to her.”

His latest cheque was handed over to Mandie Fitzgerald, fundraising manager at the Worcester hospice . She said: “We are very grateful for all donations to help fund the work of the hospice.”

Much of Mr Baker's fundraising has been through the Freemasons of which he is the communications officer for the provincial grand lodge of Worcestershire.

He added: “Many people don’t realise that hospices rely on public donations. That’s why the Freemasons run The Grand Charity which gives grants to hospices. Since 1981 they have donated more than £10 million to hospices in the UK and £100 Million to other causes.”

Due to an arthritic hip Mr Baker retired from distance running, but hopes to regain his fitness and take on the three peaks challenge in 2015.