POLICEMAN Paul Green swapped his regular town centre beat to pound the streets of London, all in the name of charity.

The Kidderminster town centre beat manager raised more than £1,300 for Acorns Children's Hospice Trust after running the London Marathon.

PC Green, who completed the marathon in four hours and 26 minutes, was supported by his daughter's Worcester school, which raised £400 by holding a mufti day, and from the people he has got to know on his beat.

He decided to raise money for Acorns, which is currently fund-raising to build a hospice in Worcester, after reading about a hospice in Kent.

"As a parent of two children, I feel for the difficulties faced by the families of children in Worcestershire who have to travel a long way to the nearest hospice facilities," he said.

PC Green underwent eight months of intensive training for the run and had to overcome many obstacles including a leg injury and the foot-and-mouth restrictions.

"I had to do most of my training on roads and pavements, which are much harder surfaces to run on," he said.

"Six weeks before the marathon, I ended up tearing a hip flexor muscle and had to find time to attend physiotherapy sessions to get me right in time."

During the run, PC Green was overtaken by former boxer Frank Bruno but was spurred on when he passed Olympic rower Steve Redgrave.

"It was a battle to keep going and I could feel my body shutting down with exhaustion but it was the sight of a man in front of me who was running in aid of leukaemia, and had a picture of a child on his back, that kept me going in the final stretch," he said.

"I'd like to thank all the people who donated generously to this worthy cause."

Anyone else who would like to contribute to Acorns Children's Hospice Trust can contact PC Green at Kidderminster police station on 01562 820888.