A YORK man is midway through a 24-hour online gaming marathon, to raise money for disabled gamers.

Mark Foster, 38, from Clifton Moor, started live-streaming his gaming session at 9.30am on Saturday, from Belong York, at Game in Church Street.

This is the third time Mark has undertaken a 24-hour fundraising session, and is aiming to raise £500 for Special Effect - an organisation which builds unique controllers to allow people with a variety of disabilities to play computer games.

Mark said: "I have a nine-year-old son, Liam, and we love playing games together. We're physically able and can do that, but if anything were to happen to him, he would miss being able to play games with me, and I would too. We're lucky enough to do what we can do, and if we can do anything to help others who can't, then we feel we should."

Special Effect are able to help people to get back into gaming following accidents or illnesses, with clients including children as young as three, right up to senior citizens, and controllers ranging from bespoke handheld items, to specially-built programmes which allow gamers to control their characters through eye movement alone.

Mark is playing Terraria until 9.30am on Sunday, with breaks of just ten minutes or less each hour, and is speaking live via the internet to people who want to tune in and support him or watch his progress in the game.

He said: "It's 2D, so the graphics aren't everything, but it's a Minecraft type of game, with some building, some fighting, that kind of thing.

"I've never managed to finish a game before in 24 hours, and if we can do the whole thing in one go, that will be great - but I'm not holding out much hope. The main thing is to keep people engaged and raise awareness of the charity while we're doing it."

To watch Mark's gaming online, go to mixer.com/sparkyandco or to donate and support the charity, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/sparkandco