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The Head Chef of a Hastings Old Town Italian eatery is swapping his apron for running shoes to take on the Hastings Half Marathon to help a local children’s charity.

Franco Esposito, who runs La Delizia, an Italian delicatessen and eatery at East Parade, on the seafront, is hard in training the gruelling 13 and a half mile run, which takes place on Sunday March 26.

He said: “Want to join me in supporting a good cause? I'm running the Hastings Half Marathon again this year, raising money for Charity For Kids and your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate £5 or £50. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support.”

Franco is no stranger to the annual Hastings Half Marathon. He took it on last year, completing the course in two hours and one minute to to raise more than £1,000 for a charity which is supporting Ukrainian children.

Franco Esposito from La Delizia in Hastings Old Town is running this year's Hastings Half Marathon in aid of Charity for Kids. Pictured: Franco at last year's half marathon.

When the Observer caught up with Franco a while back he had just completed a challenging hill climb, running from the restaurant at St Leonards to Broomham in Guestling and back.

Franco used to be front of house at La Bella Vista, an Italian restaurant in St Leonards, run by his brother Aldo, that was voted best restaurant in Sussex for two years running in the prestigious Muddy Stiletto Awards, its local success was followed by the opening of La Delizia, Italian delicatessen and eatery in Hastings Old Town.

Charity for Kids was established in Hastings in in 2011 to provide help for disabled, sick and terminally ill children and their families across Hastings and Rother. They help children and their families with specialised equipment that is either not available via the health services or comes with a very high costs, which is not always possible.

It was founded by St Leonards man Paul Harris. Paul wanted to lose weight so entered the Hastings Half Marathon. He said: “To help stay motivated I thought I would raise funds for a charity as this would give me the nudge I needed when it was dark, cold and raining. I wanted to support a local charity, ideally one that helped local children.

My wife and I are fortunate to have three healthy girls, so I wanted to help those less fortunate than us and I also wanted to keep the funds local. After looking around there wasn’t anything specific that jumped out. So, I had a conversation with my wife, the same with a friend, then shortly after Charity For Kids was born.”

To support Franco and the charity, you can donate by going to https://www.facebook.com/donate/857766868775315/633657632096035/

Or people can go to La Delizia's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ladeliziaoldtown.

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Hastings restauranteur to run Hastings Half marathon for children's charity