A man will be running the London Marathon dressed as cartoon character SuperTed, as that was his father's nickname before he died.

Matt Atkins was in the top 200 finishers at the 2012 marathon but stopped running soon afterwards when his dad, Ted, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Matt, who lives in Stonehouse and grew up in Wotton under Edge, said: "Our father was a very active person who played football and was a keen runner himself.

"My running went on the backburner as I found it tough to find any additional time for myself. All of our time was taken to make sure that our dad was well looked after and enjoyed his life before the tough decision had to be made to put him in a home."

Ted spent the last year of his life at Stonehouse's Moreton Hill Care Centre before passing away in August.

Matt is now putting his running shoes back on to raise money for Dementia Revolution, a campaign by the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

He said: "Alzheimer's should not be pigeonholed, it is much more varied as it can affect you at any age.

"It's not pretty seeing a loved one go through any of this. The money raised will go a long way to not just finding a cure but to help support the families who are affected."

"I have decided to make the challenge a little difficult by racing in a fancy dress outfit.

"Those who knew Ted knew him as SuperTed so I will yes be dressed as SupertTed.

"My dad can have a laugh from up above and hopefully I can raise awareness of this cruel disease."

To donate go to bit.ly/2VkMet6.