Leighton Buzzard man and best friend holding family fun day in Houghton Regis

A determined Leighton Buzzard man and his best friend are inviting families to an action-packed fundraising day in Houghton Regis

Darren Goult, 46, and his chum Keith Hart, 48, are encouraging residents to enjoy a car boot sale, live music, barbecue, children’s activities, and more on Saturday, August 7, at St Vincent’s Social Club.

However, the fun day is just the start of the challenge as the pair will be running two marathons in a week this October. Their busy year is all in aid of the charity, RAFT (the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust), which has conducted pioneering research into the treatment of burn injuries and other physical traumas.

Talking about why they chose the cause, Darren said: “Keith got run over as a child and had skin graft reconstructive surgery on his leg which made this [RAFT] a great choice.

“I have run 10 marathons so far, since losing five stone in weight four years ago, and I met Keith at a ‘Couch to 5k for Beginners’ running group that I started two years ago.

“We became good friends and I have been training him for marathon runs. This will be his 3rd and it’s lots of training and hard work. We run anything from 40 to 65k a week.”

On August 7, the day will start with an indoor car boot Sale in St Vincent’s from 8am - 11.45am. After 11.45am, the room will become a children’s area with a disco, bouncy castle, glitter tattoos, face painting, sweet cones and more.

In the main room from 1pm there will be eight live acts performing throughout the day, all of whom are local and giving up their time for free.

Once the main act finishes at around 9.30pm /10pm there will then be a disco and karaoke to finish. Throughout the day there will also be a barbecue, raffles and more.

Thanking the community, Darren said: “Catmel the landlady at St Vincent’s has very kindly allowed us also to use the club at no cost, and Sinead and Liam from LS Events are donating money from any sales in kids’ area.”

Entry - adults: £2.50; under 16s are free. To buy tickets, call Darren on: 07791530923.

For the car boot sale, entry is 50p and a table costs £7.50. To book a table, please contact Darren. Sellers’ entry: 7am.

>Darren and Keith will be running the London Marathon and the Manchester Marathon in October.