A DUDLEY dad has completed his fourth London Marathon in memory of his best friend.

Paul Millard, a roadworker for National Grid, finished the prestigious race in three hours, forty-one minutes on Sunday.

It was a personal best for the father-of-two, who was running in memory of his pal, Leighton Hall, who died of bowel cancer last year.

The two Upper Gornal men were former semi-professional footballers for Tividale FC and had been friends since they were 17-years-old.

Inspired by his teammate’s brave battle against cancer, Paul, aged 42, ran the 26.2 mile route to raise for The Bobby Moore Fund (BMF) for Cancer Research UK, which funds research into the disease.

Over the past five years Paul has single-handedly raised nearly £22,000 for the fund and has notched up 31 half marathons and eight full marathons, with the New York marathon next on the horizon in November.

Paul, who has raised more than £3,000 through his recent effort, said: “It had a huge effect on me when Leighton died. He was a father and a footballer like me, leaving behind a devastated wife and three children.

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw Leighton in hospital after his initial diagnosis in 2011. He looked so ill it shocked me to the core. He had a pile of leaflets on his bed, and one of them was about the Bobby Moore Fund. He told me he wanted to do something for BMF and I said straight away that I would help.”

He continued: “The London Marathon is one of the most exciting running events in the world and I’m really delighted to have been be part of it again. And I'm over the moon to have got my personal best. "Leighton has inspired my dream to do all the six world major marathons for Cancer Research UK. I've done London and Berlin, will be doing New York in November, which leaves Boston, Chicago and Tokyo.”

People can still help Paul boost his total by visiting http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulMillard1