A Carlisle man who has been living with Parkinson's for over 20 years completed a marathon alongside his family last weekend. 

David Little, 59, was diagnosed with the disease, that causes problems like shaking and stiffness and gets worse over time, back in 2003. 

However, that hasn't deterred his love of running, and he has been a regular with Carlisle Parkrun since its inception. 

On Sunday May 26, he completed the Hairy Haggis Relay alongside his son and daughter Matthew and Katie, and his daughter-in-law Rachel. 

David said: "I was diagnosed in 2003. I'm still doing quite well for someone who's had Parkinson's for so long. I still run. It was my wife's idea, and she was going to run with us, but then she got injured and she couldn't do it in the end.

"My son's partner stepped in at the last minute and ran it with us."

The Little By Little team were running for Parkinson's UK, a charity which drives better care, treatments and quality of life for people suffering from Parkinson's. 

But for David, exercise has been one of the best treatments for his disease. 

He said: "Exercise has been shown to actually slow it down. I actually run a Parkrun for Parkinson's awareness group, we run every weekend. I only ran the last leg, which was about 4.5 miles on Sunday, but that was it a challenge in itself, but we finished.

David is helping to change the image of Parkinson's and spread more awareness about the disease. 

He added: "I am trying to show that it is not just old people that get Parkinson's. I was 39 when I was diagnosed. I'm now nearly 60, and I'm not old by a long stretch of the imagination.

"A lot of young people seem to hide away be quite embarrassed by it. They end up not doing anything about it, which makes it worse.

"I would encourage people to exercise however they can, it doesn't have to be a marathon or even a 5k, just keep fit, even if it's just a walk around the block."