A Wimbledon mother is running the Virgin London Marathon in memory of her parents who both died of bowel cancer.

Kathryn Tooth, 39, hopes to raise £2,000 for charity Beating Bowel Cancer to go towards the charity’s work supporting patients and their families.

Ms Tooth said: "I wanted to do something positive in Mum and Dad’s memory as they were the kind of people who always believed in going out and grabbing every opportunity."

"I know my parents would think it was brilliant and I can almost hear them laughing at the thought!" she added.

Over 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer ever year, but more than 90 per cent of cases can be treated successfully if caught early enough.