Granddad wore shorts every day FOR A YEAR to raise money for charity- even sporting them at weddings and funerals

A granddad-of-four mocked for his "knobbly knees" wore shorts every day for an entire YEAR for charity- and even donned them for a wedding and two funerals.David Arnold, 74, came up with the unusual fundraising idea after he lost his niece to ataxia - a degenerative disease of the nervous system.And for 365 days of the year starting on January 1 last year,  David has posted a new photo of him wearing shorts everyday to his Facebook page.Despite the winter chill and influx of formal events, David has stuck to his word and even had some shorts made from tailored trousers for a wedding.David said: "When people want to raise money for charity they usually do cycles or runs and I thought I'd wear shorts every day for the whole year!

I wear shorts a lot anyway- not usually in the winter though!"I've worn shorts to funerals, weddings and even to church!

I had some tailored trousers that were made into smart shorts for formal occasions."He hoped to raise money for the charity Ataxia UK after his niece Louisa Arnold died from Friedreich's ataxia aged just 35 from the disease in October 2018.It's a genetic disease that causes difficulty walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs and impaired speech that worsens over timeThe retired environmental scientist from Balsham village in Cambs, explained: "My niece suffered from ataxia from childhood and she was confined to a wheelchair.

It's a degenerative condition and most people die from it and my niece did at 35."Her legs collapsed under her and that's when they knew something was wrong.

You can get a convoluted spine, and enlarged heart, all types of awful problems."It was very distressing for my brother and his wife looking after her.

My wife Susan and I couldn't do anything productive to help them out."In the last three of four years, Louisa's speech was difficult to understand."When she died I suddenly thought that I was going to do something in her memory to raise awareness of ataxia.

Only 2,000 people have it in the UK."David had a selection of around 17 shorts to chose from and said he got a few strange looks from confused people.He said: "I went to two funerals, a wedding and I sing and read at church so I asked for permission from the choir master to allow me to wear shorts which he was very supportive of."We even cut down a suit for a wedding- luckily it wasn't too expensive."I would carry slips of paper around with me at formal occasions with my name and a brief explanation of what I was doing."I have pineapple shorts, suit shorts and denim shorts- though my wife tells me they're too short!"I felt quite uncomfortable sometimes because people were looking at me strangely because I was an old man wearing shorts at a funeral in winter!"Once people understood though they were very supportive."My cousin said I have terrible knobbly knees!"As well as the odd funeral and wedding, David has visited the Tate museum in winter and even went to a restaurant which only allows long trousers.He said: "The restaurant allowed me to wear shorts and the waitress even gave me £5 to my fundraising!"And when midnight chimed on New Years Eve, David swiftly changed into some long trousers- although he admits he did miss the shorts at first.He added: "We went to a New Years Eve party and when it turned midnight I got changed into jeans!

I felt quite emotional about the whole thing."David had hoped to raise £1,000 but he has since raised almost £5,000 and said he has been absolutely "overwhelmed."Donations have flooded in from his family, friends and even people he meets on the streets who were left touched after hearing his story.He continued: "My niece would have probably thought I was crazy doing it!"She was lively, fun, cheeky and she absolutely loved gaming.

She played Assassins Creed at international level."We actually contacted Assassins Creed and they gave us permission for their logo to be put on her gravestone and that's the one and only time it will be done because they said it was such a special case."She was quite sarcastic and witty!

We all miss her terribly."You can donate by visiting: https://www.ataxia.org.uk/fundraisers/danesbury

A granddad-of-four mocked for his "knobbly knees" wore shorts every day for an entire YEAR for charity- and even donned them for a wedding and two funerals.David Arnold, 74, came up with the unusual fundraising idea after he lost his niece to ataxia - a degenerative disease of the nervous system.And for 365 days of the year starting on January 1 last year,  David has posted a new photo of him wearing shorts everyday to his Facebook page.Despite the winter chill and influx of formal events, David has stuck to his word and even had some shorts made from tailored trousers for a wedding.David said: "When people want to raise money for charity they usually do cycles or runs and I thought I'd wear shorts every day for the whole year!

I wear shorts a lot anyway- not usually in the winter though!"I've worn shorts to funerals, weddings and even to church!

I had some tailored trousers that were made into smart shorts for formal occasions."He hoped to raise money for the charity Ataxia UK after his niece Louisa Arnold died from Friedreich's ataxia aged just 35 from the disease in October 2018.It's a genetic disease that causes difficulty walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs and impaired speech that worsens over timeThe retired environmental scientist from Balsham village in Cambs, explained: "My niece suffered from ataxia from childhood and she was confined to a wheelchair.

It's a degenerative condition and most people die from it and my niece did at 35."Her legs collapsed under her and that's when they knew something was wrong.

You can get a convoluted spine, and enlarged heart, all types of awful problems."It was very distressing for my brother and his wife looking after her.

My wife Susan and I couldn't do anything productive to help them out."In the last three of four years, Louisa's speech was difficult to understand."When she died I suddenly thought that I was going to do something in her memory to raise awareness of ataxia.

Only 2,000 people have it in the UK."David had a selection of around 17 shorts to chose from and said he got a few strange looks from confused people.He said: "I went to two funerals, a wedding and I sing and read at church so I asked for permission from the choir master to allow me to wear shorts which he was very supportive of."We even cut down a suit for a wedding- luckily it wasn't too expensive."I would carry slips of paper around with me at formal occasions with my name and a brief explanation of what I was doing."I have pineapple shorts, suit shorts and denim shorts- though my wife tells me they're too short!"I felt quite uncomfortable sometimes because people were looking at me strangely because I was an old man wearing shorts at a funeral in winter!"Once people understood though they were very supportive."My cousin said I have terrible knobbly knees!"As well as the odd funeral and wedding, David has visited the Tate museum in winter and even went to a restaurant which only allows long trousers.He said: "The restaurant allowed me to wear shorts and the waitress even gave me £5 to my fundraising!"And when midnight chimed on New Years Eve, David swiftly changed into some long trousers- although he admits he did miss the shorts at first.He added: "We went to a New Years Eve party and when it turned midnight I got changed into jeans!

I felt quite emotional about the whole thing."David had hoped to raise £1,000 but he has since raised almost £5,000 and said he has been absolutely "overwhelmed."Donations have flooded in from his family, friends and even people he meets on the streets who were left touched after hearing his story.He continued: "My niece would have probably thought I was crazy doing it!"She was lively, fun, cheeky and she absolutely loved gaming.

She played Assassins Creed at international level."We actually contacted Assassins Creed and they gave us permission for their logo to be put on her gravestone and that's the one and only time it will be done because they said it was such a special case."She was quite sarcastic and witty!

We all miss her terribly."You can donate by visiting: https://www.ataxia.org.uk/fundraisers/danesbury