A man from Prees Heath will be taking on the might of the London Marathon on Sunday, April 22 to raise £5,000 in memory of his mum, Tracey.

Oliver Saywell, 23, who works in the IT team at Grocontinental is running the marathon in aid of the Stroke Association after Tracey passed away a few years after following a stroke at the age of 40.

Oliver, who was 16 when he lost his mum, is not taking the challenge of the London Marathon lightly.

He said: "People who know me well will be aware that I would much rather be sitting in front of a computer than lacing up my running shoes and hitting the road.

"With my previous running record being around six miles, with a fair few stops along the way, this really will be my toughest challenge yet. With many wet, cold and painful miles of training still in front of me, I definitely do have my work cut out.

"My mum ran a business called Classic Pine in Whitchurch for a number of years so many people in the town will remember her well. My brother, Dom, and I were only in our early teens when she had a stroke which she didn’t ever recover from, and we are all too aware of the devastating impact strokes can have on both those suffering and their families.

"Thinking about my mum and the opportunity to make my own contribution to the Stroke Association will really spur me on when I start to flag on the streets of London next month.”

Donations to Oliver’s marathon effort can be made via his Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/osaywell