A police sergeant from Thornbury is taking on the London Marathon for the second time as part of a team for a charity close to his heart.

Sean Underwood, 38, completed the 26.2 mile event in 2018, just two years after weighing 23st.

Now though he has put the running shoes back on and is doing it all over again for a really important charity.

"I started running three years ago to help with weight loss," Sean explained.

"The London marathon to me is the ultimate running event so I will do it as often and as much as I can.

"My wife, and my, best friend Rachael Bland died of cancer in September last year. She was 40 and left behind a 3-year-old son Freddie.

"She was our bridesmaid and god mother to our eldest child.

"She was a tv and radio presenter/broadcaster on BBC 5 live and News and has left behind a great legacy in the work she did whilst receiving treatment for the 'Big C'.

"A team are now doing the marathon to raise funds for Macmillan who were with her in the final few months.

"A group of 6 of us were asked to run for #TeamRachael including Steve her husband."

The six runners have already raised an incredible amount of money through online donations, with their page at about £10,200.

"I'm looking forward to it a lot, but I am also quite nervous," Sean continued.

"My preparation has not been great as I only recovered from injury about five weeks ago.

Sean is a Response Team Sergeant for Avon and Somerset Police, covering mainly the South Glos and North Bristol areas. The job definitely keeps him busy and has an impact on how much training can be done before the 26.2 mile run.

"Shift work makes it difficult to keep to a routine but I run to and from work some days which helps as its between a 10 and 14 mile round trip," Sean explained.

"Odd sleeping and eating patterns don't help but what ever job you do is going to have difficulties I guess."

Macmillan Cancer Support are a charity that helps provide people that are suffering from cancer with a physical, emotional and mental help.

Sean admitted that doing it for this charity and for Rachael's legacy is 'emotional'.

"We need to keep the talk going that Rach started. We need to talk about cancer," he said.

"The lows as well as the of high and generally raise awareness of her pod cast which continues.

"She has left one hell of a legacy and that is something worth celebrating for Steve, Freddie, her mum and brother as well as all her other close friends and family.

"It is going to be very emotional for many reasons, I carried Rachael's coffin at her funeral and I am hoping she can repay me by carrying through the marathon.

"We are so very grateful to everyone for the donations so far, my work team have supported me, my family and generally anyone that has connected on social media."

Sean and #TeamRachael's fundraising page can be found here.