HUNDREDS of pounds have been raised for a mental health charity following an unusual yet poignant fundraiser.

Arfon Jones, 39, an illustrator from Nefyn, has completed a bizarre ‘sharkathon’ challenge, where he sat and watched over 24 hours of the “worst shark films ever made” back-to-back.

Although the challenge, which Arfon completed a few weeks ago, was of a light-hearted fashion, his reasoning behind it was very serious.

All sponsorships and donations raised by Arfon’s challenge – which included titles such as Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus, Raiders of the Lost Shark and Shark Exorcist – have gone to the Alzheimer’s Society, an organisation which has supported his family in recent months.

In the end, he raised close to £500 to combat a disease which has had a very personal effect on him.

“I lost my grandmother in March and my grandfather just before I took on the sharkathon challenge,” explained Arfon.

“As you can imagine, losing two such important people to me in the same year – in what would have been their 60th year of marriage – within a few months of each other to the same horrible condition has been heartbreaking.

“Although I mentioned how it was my grandmother that inspired me to become an artist, my grandfather played an equal part because my grandparents were very much a team, a veritable ‘dynamic duo’ if you will.”

For more information on the work of the Alzheimer’s Society, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk

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