A history enthusiast from Yorkshire plans to take to the streets of Ramsey this March for the Hospice Half Marathon.

Thomas Bell, 38, from Leeds, will travel to the island with his family to run the Flutter International-sponsored event, which raises funds for Hospice care on the Isle of Man.

However, not content with running in standard kit, Thomas has pledged to complete the race wearing 14kg of Viking gear - including a large battle axe, which he says is blunt. The outfit is intended to reflect his interest in history and to help attract attention to his fundraising efforts.

Thomas said: ‘I work for Flutter, and I was speaking to the colleague who set up the Flutter International sponsorship of the half marathon.

‘She’s done that because one of her close friends passed away in the hospice. She looked after him during his final days. They also helped her through some other distressing times as well. So she suggested why don’t I do some fundraising, and that’s what I’m doing.’

It was nine years ago that Thomas first visited the island and says he quickly developed an affection for it. A self-confessed history enthusiast, he draws parallels between the Isle of Man and Yorkshire, including place names such as Dalby and their shared Viking heritage.

He said taking part in the Ramsey race felt like an opportunity to combine that interest with supporting a cause connected to his workplace and colleague.

Speaking about the importance of fundraising for the charity, Thomas said: ‘To give an example of the challenges they’re facing, last year only 23% of their required £7.1million running costs came from government funding. The rest is all through fundraising and sponsorship. Obviously times are harder in terms of how they can get money and they do such amazing things.’

The figures relate to 2025, with the charity aiming to raise more than £6 million this year to meet its operational costs.

Hospice provides palliative and end-of-life care for people with terminal or life-limiting conditions. It supports patients, families and loved ones, with care provided free of charge, 24 hours a day throughout the year.

For more than 40 years it has cared for thousands of people on the island, relying heavily on donations and community fundraising events such as the half marathon.

This is not Thomas’s first fundraising challenge. He has previously completed a marathon in the UK wearing Viking attire.

In that race he carried a shield displaying the logos of businesses which had donated to the cause, and he plans to repeat the idea in Ramsey.

‘I’m contacting local businesses and offering to put their logo on the shield. The bigger the donation, the bigger the logo,’ he said.

People can support Thomas’s fundraising through his JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/tombellviking?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020