Paisley man Stephen Connor, 37, is taking on the gruelling 26.2-mile challenge of the London Marathon and the 53-mile Highland Fling next month to raise money for Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children.

The cause is a children’s charity which is currently helping three-year-old Ellie Goodwin, from Linthouse, sleep in safety.

The only way little Ellie can get a good night’s sleep is with a £10,000 specialist bed to keep her safe. Previously, she had spent months sleeping in a car seat.

Once her five-year-old brother had taught her how to climb out of her cot, night-time safety became an issue.

Her mother, Isabella Murray, explained: “Ellie has no awareness of danger and decreased sensitivity to pain. Once she could climb out of her cot she would do some really dangerous things, like wrap wires round her neck.

“The only way we could keep her safe at night was to put her in her car seat and then put that inside her cot; it was the only way we could monitor her.” Ellie has Smith-Magenis syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes sleep disturbances and developmental and behavioural problems.

She used to wake up frequently at night. But, because she feels hardly any pain, she harmed herself by hitting her head against walls and swallowing toys.

With no alternative sleeping arrangement being offered by their local statutory services, Isabella made it her mission for 2014 to find a suitable solution.

“It just wasn’t acceptable for her to continue to sleep in a car seat,” she said.

Fortunately, her condition has drastically improved since she was lent the padded bed through the Newlife charity.

Having provided the safety bed for Ellie, Newlife appealed for ‘local heroes’ to come forward to fundraise to help other disabled and terminally ill children across Scotland.

Warrant Officer Class One Stephen is a careers manager at the Army personnel centre in Glasgow. Already used to hours of gruelling exercise, he decided to step forward and volunteer for the life-changing cause.

He said: “I had already decided to tackle the Highland Fling, so thought I would put all my training to good use by offering to run the London Marathon for Newlife.

“To prepare, I am currently running the six miles each way from home in Paisley to work in Glasgow city centre – and my boss likes to send me off on a six-mile jog each lunch time.

“Last Sunday I managed 20 miles so I am optimistic that I will be able to complete the marathon.

“Knowing that I will be running for such a good cause will spur me on. Like thousands of other people, I read a story about Ellie in the local press and I wanted to help Newlife support other Scottish families like Ellie’s.” Ellie’s mother Isabella continued: “Ellie’s condition means she doesn’t like change, so for the first few days she was a bit hectic.

“But then she settled down. She used to be up six or seven times a night and now it is only usually once.

“She gets up around 7am and now and, for the first time, she is trying to communicate with us. Sometimes when Ellie comes home from nursery, she actually asks to go to bed, using the Makaton communication system. Even her nursery school has noticed the difference in Ellie.” The charity is currently working with the families of seven children in Scotland, with equipment needs totalling £26,467.

Stephen’s entry into the London Marathon comes just 13 days before he tackles the 53-mile Highland Fling – along the route of the West Highland Way – “for fun”.

If you would like to support Stephen, go to his JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/stephenconnor747 and donate.

To find out more about Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk