A Leek man is running the London Marathon with the aim of completing his brother's goal of raising £10,000 for charity.

Paul Lockett will be taking on the world famous marathon next Sunday (October 3rd) in memory of his dad Alan and brother James, who both passed away late last year.

James had been aiming to raise £10,000 for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice, and Paul is hoping to complete his goal.

James was hoping to run the London marathon last year, but like many things, it was cancelled due to Coronavirus restrictions, but instead took part in a virtual marathon, and was able to raise an amazing total of £6,742 before he died.

With this in mind, Paul has set himself the target of raising the remaining £3,258 to complete James's £10,000 goal.

Only one out of every 25 people who apply to run the London marathon actually get a place, but after trying for many years Paul was finally accepted to run for the first time this year.

As part of his training, he has been on a mission to run to every street sign in Leek, taking on every sign of the same letter on each run. He's almost finished, with the last run covering all the signs beginning with B, which he aims to complete this week.

Paul said: "Alan my dad sadly lost his fight with cancer on 21st September 2020, 8 weeks later on 18th November 2020, my younger brother James, aged 45, died suddenly.

"James had supported Douglas Macmillan for a number of years and his goal was to raise £10,000 for this charity last year and he managed an incredible £6,742. It's my aim to help James reach his target of £10,000 for Douglas MacMillan as my tribute to him.

"I wish to thank everyone for their kind donations and words of support, each and every donation makes a huge difference to Douglas MacMillan for the excellent care they're able to provide to the patients and the help they give to relatives, carers and friends and brings comfort to our family."

Thanks to everyone's amazing support Paul has already smashed his target ahead of the marathon, raising £3,301 which puts him and his brother's combined totals over their £10,000 goal.

The fundraiser is still live and if you would like to donate click here.