DOZENS of Worcestershire runners were taking a well-deserved rest today after pounding the streets of the capital along with nearly 50,000 others in the London Marathon.

People from across the county had been training for the 26-mile race for months in order to raise as much money as possible for their chosen charities -- and all the hard work paid off.

Firefighter Simon Gillett from Northwick managed to raise £1,800 for Acorns Children's Hospice and was celebrating after achieving a personal best time of three hours and 26 minutes.

The 41-year-old, who was running the marathon for the fourth time, took part in memory of 11-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer Robert Davison, of Worboys Road, St John's Worcester, who died in January. "It was tough as it was a bit too hot," he said. "But I've definitely got the bug and I can't wait for next year."

That was a feeling echoed by youngest Worcester City Councillor Alex Kear. The 27-year-old completed his first marathon in just more than five hours and raised £1,500 for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. "The jubilation of getting over that line was amazing," he said.

British Airways long-haul flight stewardess Laura Robertson raised more than £5,000 to help equip a palliative care room in the new Pershore Hospital when it is built.

The 34-year-old from Pensham, near Pershore, completed the race in four-and-a-half hours and said the "amazing crowds" helped her along. Emma Curnock, 29, from Grayling Close, off Bath Road, sailed through in four hours and 25 minutes, raising £1,500 for Parkinsons Disease and arthritis charities.

Debbie Jones, the landlady of the Grosvenor Arms, Henwick Road, Worcester, is celebrating as she and her fellow runners - her 20-year-old daughter Ella and three of her regulars Molly Richardson, aged 40, Claire Wardle, aged 21, and Emma Davies raised more than £5,000 for Leukaemia Care.