Local residents were put through their paces at the weekend in a boot camp for Haven House Children’s Hospice at South Woodford Gym.

Around 50 people took part in a series of gruelling exercises led by a team of personal trainers from Fit With Energy on Sunday 21 August.

The boot camp raised more than £500 for Haven House in Woodford Green. Janie Torrance, from Wanstead, uses the hospice for her son, Dylan, and took part in the boot camp with other members of her family.

She said: “Haven House provides fantastic support to Dylan and it’s great to see so many people helping to raise funds for the hospice. The boot camp was challenging, but great fun and hopefully it can happen again.”

Odell Lewis, Personal Trainer at Fit With Energy, said: “I was delighted to see so many people turn up on a rather grey and windy Sunday morning in order to support Haven House.

“The charity does excellent work in the community for families and we hope to hold another boot camp event for Haven House in the future."

Mike Palfreman, Chief Executive of Haven House, said: “We are really grateful to Odell and everyone else at Fit With Energy for putting on such a fantastic event.

“The funds raised will help us continue to make a difference for families like Janie and Dylan who need our support.”

Read Dylan's story in our meet our families page.