Stockport Spidermen bringing joy to families on daily run

Two men in Stockport have been delighting neighbourhoods by dressing as Spider-Man while out and about.

Known as the "Stockport Spider-Men" sightings of the superhero during the coronavirus lockdown have been entertaining children and family alike.

Jason Baird, 34, from Manchester, runs Jason Baird's Black Belt Academy in Stockport.

He said his colleague Andrew started the craze by dressing up as the beloved character on a live video call to some of their students.

The next day Andrew went around his estate in the same costume, so Mr Baird decided to help out by borrowing an outfit from one of his friends.

The pair are now going on their daily runs dressed as their alter-egos, with requests coming in droves on their Facebook group.

"All my neighbours on the street, they've got teddy bears of Spider-Man in the windows, they've Sellotaped Spider-Man masks to lamp posts," Mr Baird said.

"It's nice to see because it's keeping me happy and sane as well. I went through a bit of a wobble. It's keeping me busy and active."

The duo have only been running as Spider-Man since Monday, but have already accrued a following in the hundreds.

"We had the whole family at the window waiting for Spider-Man to appear," said one resident.

"We looked away for a moment and when we looked back he was suddenly there. I can't express how much this lifted our spirits."

Mr Baird said he closed his martial arts school early to prevent the risk of spreading coronavirus.

He has been following social distancing rules on his runs, and even shares activities and challenges for local children to occupy themselves with.