A FORMER national bench push champion lifted 100kg 1,000 times to raise money for charity.

Pinda Singh, 34, took on the challenge at Hamilton Fitness Centre, in Severalls Business Park, Colchester, yesterday.

He was raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The father-of-two, who owns a plumbing shop, has represented the gym since 2002, and has been the national bench push champion nine times, the most recent in 2014.

He said: “I always donate to charity. This year I thought why not try to fundraise instead of just giving money. The thing I’m good at is weightlifting. I thought I would have to come up with a number that people are going to go ‘this is really something’.”

The dad-of-two spend six hours 36 minutes completing the set.

He said: “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”