A 58-YEAR-old man who has a rare form of dementia which affects his vision has completed a 10km race with his daughter.

Peter Mumford, from Ross-on-Wye, has posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) and took part in the Kew Gardens 10k at the Richmond Runfest.

He ran with his 30-year-old daughter Sophie Hancox, who went on to run the Richmond Half Marathon the following day.

PCA is a rare variant of Alzheimer’s disease that damages the part of the brain that makes sense of what the eyes are seeing.

Peter said: “I’ve always kept myself fit and want to continue. Running is a way for me to maintain my independence.

“I used to compete in time-trials with Hereford Wheelers but I can’t anymore as I have to be so careful on roads.

“I also played golf regularly, but I now struggle to see the ball. I can walk right over my ball on the fairway and not see it and once on the green I putted the ball to a leaf mistaking it for the hole.

“Running does have challenges for me. For example, closed drains can look like they are open. It took me a long time to convince myself that they are flat and I can step on them."

They complete the 10km together in 58m49s and have raised more than £1,250 for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

When Peter first started noticing problems with his vision, he went to the opticians, who found nothing wrong with his eyes. Peter thought he might have had a stroke or might have a brain tumour, but an MRI scan eventually revealed he had PCA.

He said: “When I found out I had a form of dementia it was a shock. I didn’t know anything about PCA and you don’t expect to have dementia at my age. But I didn’t get too upset, I decided to make the most of things and just got on with it.

“One of the hardest things for me was having to give up work. I’ve always worked in car body shops, as a paint-sprayer, but I found I was missing bits and struggling to see the lines.”

To sponsor the duo go to justgiving.com/fundraising/Sophie-Hancox2