Larne schoolboy inspired by Man United hero raises money to fund 25,000 meals for poverty charity

Ten-year-old Ben Dickinson is gearing up to walk from Larne to Old Trafford in Manchester in order to tackle food poverty in Northern Ireland.

The Co Antrim schoolboy is spearheading a campaign against hunger with help from Manchester United legend, Bryan Robson and has so far raised enough money to fund 25,000 meals for food poverty charity FareShare.

Inspired by his hero Marcus Rashford (MBE) who is an ambassador for FareShare UK, Ben launched an ambitious fundraising campaign 'Ben’s Miles for Meals' which will see him walk from Inver Park to Old Trafford Football Stadium in March.

Speaking of the monumental 25,000-meal milestone, which comes just one month after launching his campaign, the football fan and Greenisland FC player said: "When I saw the work Marcus Rashford was doing with FareShare, I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I decided to do a charity walk to raise money for those most in need and it’s amazing to see my idea come to life.

"I can’t believe how supportive everyone has been so far, from my friends and family to businesses in my local area and beyond, and having a Man Utd legend like Bryan Robson help me along the way is just the icing on the cake.

"Knowing so many people are rooting for me really spurs me on and motivates me to keep going in pursuit of my overall fundraising target of 50,000 meals for FareShare, and I’m so excited to begin my walk to Old Trafford."

Upon hearing of Ben’s fundraising efforts, former footballer Bryan Robson used his current position as global ambassador for Manchester United to champion the campaign at a recent event in the city.

The result was a deluge of donations for the ten-year-old and his chosen charity.

FareShare collects surplus food from multiple