An East Cambridgeshire dad has returned home after crossing the line at the London Marathon last weekend in memory of his late four-year-old son.

Henry Wright completed the capital sprint on Sunday, April 28 in a time of six hours and 18 minutes and has raised around £5,000 charity.

Mr Wright lost his son, Douglas, in February 2018 after he was diagnosed with cancer by doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

After the diagnosis, Mr Wright and his family were helped by CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people.

Before the race, he told this newspaper: “I wanted to do something tough, not just for Douglas but also to help with my own physical and mental well-being.”

Mr Wright had no particular time goal for the London Marathon, he just wanted to make sure that he crossed the finish line – whether he was running or walking.

He said: “I found the second half harder than the first as I have done quite a few half marathons in training but not much beyond that distance.

“The support along the way was incredible. Lots of my friends came along to support me and I think they covered almost as many miles as I did zipping across London.

“The CLIC cheer points were great and really spurred me along. My favourite moment was running over Tower Bridge where all the charities seemed to have cheer points, I found it very emotional.”

Donations have poured in from local businesses, family, friends and even complete strangers.

He added: “At Douglas’ funeral, the vicar spoke of how, though short, his life had touched many people. This has been evident in the response from the local community.

“The village hairdressers raised a few hundred pounds in sponsorship from their customers.

“My fellow Littleport Park Runner’s have been very generous and complete strangers have donated, having read the article in the Ely Standard.

“I even had a donation from another Henry Wright who chanced upon my Just Giving page by mistake!”