I'm walking from St James' Park to the Stadium of Light in honour of Bradley Lowery

Kind-hearted Isaac, 11, from St Helens, has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charities including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the Oliver King Foundation.

In memory of Black Cat Bradley, whose fight against neuroblastoma touched the hearts of the nation, Isaac has also been raising funds for the Bradley Lowery Foundation, which helps families access vital treatment and equipment not available through the NHS

He started fundraising when he was seven-years-old after hearing about Tyson Fury’s daughter Athena being ill. The youngster had played with the Fury children in a restaurant once and he wanted to do something to help make a difference.

His fundraising started doing walks and soon led to bigger challenges like sitting in every seat at Goodison Park - all 39,414 of them - and visiting all 20 Premier League stadiums in just two days.

And this week has been a busy week for the young Man United fan.

On Thursday, July 24, he and his friend, fellow fundraiser Jack Elliot, 11, took on the challenge of sitting in all 25,486 seats at Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace, in a single day, which they completed.

And, today, Friday, July 25, the group is setting off from St James’ Park to walk the 15 miles to Bradley’s beloved Stadium of Light.

Isaac’s dad, Chris, said: “The lads smashed it at Selhurst Park and are really excited about heading to the Stadium of Light. He’d heard about Bradley when he was ill and what a big football fan he was and he felt a connection with him through that.

“He’s raised money for Alder Hey in the past and this time he wanted to do something for a children’s charity directly, so chose Bradley’s.”

He added: “Isaac was a mascot for Manchester United a few months ago and ended up walking out with (former Sunderland loanee) Amad Diallo and he was cheering Sunderland on when they won at Wembley.

“Sunderland has great fans and we know how passionate they are so we reckon we’re going to get a great welcome.”

Brooke Mitchell, fundraising and family support worker at Bradley Lowery Foundation, said: “Isaac has done so many incredible things for many charities.

“He is so young and such an inspiration. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are to not only Isaac but his friends and family too for all of their unbelievable support.”

Today’s walk is the fifth annual charity event organised by Isaac, and Jack, has been a loyal supporter and teammate throughout.

Together, they hope to break a £40,000 total fundraising milestone – and they can’t do it without your help.

You can donate to the lads’ JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/isaac-oconnor-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL