Tyson Fury’s delight as young fan travels 50 miles to surprise him on his morning run in Morecambe

A determined schoolboy met his sporting idol Tyson Fury by camping out all night to catch the boxing champ on his early morning run - and got to jog alongside his hero.

Presley Pennington, 14, drove 50 miles with his parents to Morecambe, in the hope of catching the world heavyweight champion during his morning workout.

And after sleeping in a canopy above his parent’s campervan, the shocked lad managed to bump into the ‘Gypsy King’ during a 6am run along the seafront.

The excited youngster filmed a video of their meeting, where he can be heard yelling “With Tyson on a run” while being urged on by the 120kg prizefighter.

And the elite Wythenshawe born boxer - currently training to fight former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua - also gave Presley a hat bearing his nickname.

Presley said about the experience: “They say don’t meet your heroes but he has such a good personality.

“I have two books on him and the reason he inspires me is that he was struggling, he had bad mental health problems and wanted to crash into a wall.

“Then he thought of his kids, started training and became the heavyweight champion of the world.

“I admire that he turned his life around so quickly.”

Presley, a pupil at Blessed Trinity RC College, said he drove from his hometown of Burnley to Morecambe after seeing Tyson jogging on social media.

He said: “I saw on Instagram that he runs down the seafront in Morecambe most days for his well-being.

“I said to my grandma ‘I want to meet Tyson.’ We have a caravan in Morecambe, so we decided to try and make it happen!”

Presley said he first caught sight of the fighting champion near a supermarket in the seaside town, where he grabbed a photo with him and received a branded hat.

He said: “The weird thing is the day before, when we got to Morecambe, I saw Tyson in his car near Sainsbury’s out the blue and he shook my hand.

“I got a picture and he gave me a hat which he signed.”

The following day, on June 3 this year, Presley’s dad Arron, 37, said he was woken up by his son quietly leaving the caravan in the early hours of the morning.

The electrician explained: “I thought he was bloody mad as I didn’t think he was going to do it. He was in the tent above the campervan and I said, ‘What are you doing?’

“He said, ‘I’m going for a run with Tyson fury’ but I just said, ‘You’re mad’ and shut the window.”

Presley then headed to Morecambe seafront where he was shocked to find the boxing champion charging along with a union flag tied to his back.

He said: “I got up and ready for 6 am, and we saw him on the run, and he remembered me.

“I only ran a little way with him, but the adrenaline kept me going!”

Presley later posted a video of him running with Tyson on social media, adding: “All my friends laughed at it. They thought it was great.”

And after watching Tyson train, the teen said he was in no doubt who would win the upcoming title fight between him and Anthony Joshua.

He said: “Tyson will absolutely smash him. He is a warrior. I would bet £2m on Tyson winning if I could, I am that confident!”

While Presley admits to enjoying boxing, he already has plans for his future.

He said: “I want to be a scaffolder or roofer. My mate and I want to set up our own business.”