A WORCESTER man will be running the London Marathon in memory of his younger brother.

Andrew Perkins is set to tackle the gruelling 26-mile course to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund.

His brother Glen died of the disease in September 2000 at the age of 33.

"Throughout his life, Glen made people laugh and despite his fight against leukaemia he never gave up and continued to smile," said Mr Perkins, of Bream Close, in Broomhall.

"I would like to continue brightening peoples' lives as Glen did ours and this is my way of offering hope to other leukaemia patients."

Mr Perkins hopes to complete the marathon on Sunday, April 14, in less than four hours and is running more than 25 miles a week in training.

"Training is going very well so far. I'm getting quite excited about it," he said.

"This is the first time I have run any marathon."

Mr Perkins is hoping to raise more than £1,000 for LRF through sponsorship which is going well so far.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Mr Perkins should contact him at 01905 351636, or his parents on 01886 833283.

Leukaemia Research Fund is the only national UK charity devoted exclusively to improving treatments, finding cures and learning how to prevent leukaemia, Hodgkin's disease and other lymphomas.