Jail marathon man gets £500 charity cheque from Archer

A PRISONER who ran a marathon around a jail yard for charity has received financial support from one of Britain’s most famous inmates.

Lord Jeffrey Archer this week posted a cheque for £500 to Limerick prisoner Pat Scanlan.

Scanlan, who is serving a seven-year jail sentence for a drugs offence, ran 628 laps of Limerick prison yard last December in a bid to raise money for the Chernobly Children's Project.

The 43-year-old prisoner got the surprise of his life on Thursday when he opened his mail and discovered a personal letter from Jeffrey Archer accompanied by a cheque for £500.

The letter was addressed the Penthouse, 93 Albert Embankment London where Lord Archer hosted his famous champagne and shepherd pie parties.

"Pat was delighted as you can well imagine. Jeffrey Archer gets a mound of letters at the jail in England where he is being held but he rarely replies or writes to people other than friends and family," said a prison source.

Apparently he learned about Pat's marathon and wanted to chip in," he added.

It's believed Lord Archer, who was jailed after being found in contempt of court, read about Pat's marathon in the British newspapers.

"Lord Archer's letter was written on high quality vellum notepaper with his own personal letter heading and home address. It is a collector's item from a man who has written some of the most famous novels of all time," added the prison source.

Pat Scanlon completed his prison run on December 20 last. His aim is to raise €10,000 for the Chernobyl Children's Project.

So far he has raised €8,000. Chernobyl Children's Project director Adi Roche travelled to Limerick on the day of the marathon and congratulated him on his marathon achievement.