A MAN shed five stone so he could raise money for charity running this year’s London marathon.

As a spectator watching his sister-in-law run the iconic 26.2miles last year, Andy Schwab vowed do it himself and began the hard task of getting fit and dropping the pounds.

“At my peak I was 19-and-a-half stone,” he said.

“I’m now a healthy 14-and-a-half, and that’s not a bad weight for a man of 6ft 4in I think.”

The 37-year-old said his previous lifestyle was made up of takeaways, going to the pub and smoking, and he realised he was not happy with it when he reached his mid-30s.

Mr Schwab decided to lose the weight when his daughter was born and began to aimed for the 2014 London marathon as an ambitious goal.

“The biggest milestone was my daughter being born,” he said. “My dad was a police officer – he was and still is a very well-respected member of the community.

“I remember one occasion being about four years old and my dad tackled a man he saw breaking into a car.

“I was so proud of him and I wanted to be somebody my daughter could look up to if I was in the same position.

“I’ve trained alone for the duration of my weight loss.

“Although it’s harder to keep motivated that way, I still have great people around me, and my girlfriend has been brilliant.”

Once Mr Schwab had lost the weight, he tried to donate his old suit to charity – but his mum told him to keep it for when he gets fat again. He is set on proving her wrong.

Mr Schwab, of Vincent Road, Sidbury, is a team co-ordinator at Scope UK – a charity which helps disabled people – and has decided to run for his own charity.

“I’ve always been passionate about supporting people with disabilities to live the lives they want to live, irrespective of their physical conditions,” he said.

“My target is £1,800.

“I’m about half way there so there’s still lots to do.”

To sponsor Mr Schwab visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndySchwab.