LOCKDOWN has been tough on everyone – but particularly so for Jonathan Brough from Minchinhampton.

Last year, thanks to amazing donors, he managed to raise more than £17,000 to buy a new all-terrain wheelchair.

On a personal level, the chair allows him to enjoy Minchinhampton Common for the first time since a devastating bout of meningitis – back in 2007 – left him permanently paralysed from the neck down, dependent on permanent life-support to breathe.

But Jonathan, 32, is never inward-looking.

For his other ambition for the chair was to enter even more fundraising races than normal to support his favourite charities, particularly those associated with spinal injuries.

Lockdown means that pretty much all the racing he planned for this year has been cancelled.

“So I was really pleased to get an email from the Great Run [a series of running events round the UK] to say they’re holding the Great Run Solo,” Jonathan says.

Instead of running en masse, this specially-formulated lockdown challenge means entrants can choose a target and participate by themselves, with all money raised going to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal.

Jonathan has chosen a personal target of covering 100km in his chair, by June 22, averaging 3.5km a day.

“That’s definitely a challenge for me,” he admits.

“It’s the furthest I’ve ever done. But the fact that I can make up my own routes and do it – within the month – in my own timeframe really helps.

“Spinal injury can be limiting at times, which can be frustrating; but, at the same time, this gives me even more focus and determination to make the things that I can do count.”

Jonathan – a graduate in media arts – will be posting photographs of local scenes as he goes along, via his social media accounts.

“Yesterday, I did a route that took me past Minchinhampton War Memorial, and someone clapped as I went through. That sort of support is really encouraging.”

But the thing that’s encouraging Jonathan the most is the idea of raising money for NHS staff.

It was they who helped him rehabilitate following his illness and subsequent paralysis back in 2007, and who provide on-going care when he needs it.

“The NHS has been really important to me, and it’s such a relevant time to remember how much they do for us.

“I’m really excited about taking on this challenge.”

• To sponsor Jonathan and raise money for the NHS, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/jonathan-brough6

• You can follow his progress via YouTube and Facebook.