Exterminate! Doctor Who fan runs Bournemouth 5k in dalek costume

Earlier this month, an artist and self-proclaimed “huge Doctor Who fan” ran a 5k charity race while wearing his homemade, life-size Dalek costume.

22-year-old Merlin Summers recreated the iconic ‘Doctor Who’ character at his home using recycled materials such as Kinder Egg cases, bicycle inner tubes and plastic sheeting, all rescued from rubbish skips.

The sculpture, called ‘Mr Reece I Kul’, brought a lot of joy to young and old alike during the run on Sunday 23 March.

Family member Leonie Summers said: “Merlin is autistic with learning difficulties and at one point his OCD was so bad he could hardly walk at all without severe anxiety attacks.” 

Despite these challenges, Summers is currently studying animation at University of the West of England, based in Bristol, and has won several awards for his art.