A DUDLEY nurse and his friends were among a group of dedicated runners who took to the streets for Dudley's Action Heart charity in this year's London Marathon.

Tom Lee-Field, endocrine lead nurse at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, and pals Dan and Joe Woodall raised almost £4,000 for the charity, which is based at the hospital, when they completed the famous 26.2-mile road race.

Thirty-one-year-old Tom, from Wordsley, completed the course in four hours 14 minutes - while architect Dan, aged 32, from Wordsley, finished in three hours 30 minutes and his younger brother Joe, aged 22, a trainee quantity surveyor who lives in Kingswinford, completed the event in four hours 58 minutes.

As well as running their first London Marathon, the trio also staged a series of pre-race fundraisers including a quiz night, a grand raffle and a 7.5-hour treadmill run in the hospitals Action Heart gym.

Tom said of the challenge: "We were all thrilled to complete it and it's definitely one to tick off the bucket list, but for me personally it hasn't made me want to do it again.

"We saw some mad sights and weird and wonderful costumes along the way but the atmosphere throughout the entire 26.2-mile course got us all to the finish line and helped us raise an amazing amount of money for a fantastic charity."

Anyone wishing to add to their sponsorship total can make a donation online at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/JoeTomandDan.

The three friends were among a group of charity fundraisers running for Action Heart.

Stourbridge News: Action Heart London Marathon runnersAction Heart London Marathon runners

Jane Pugh, aged 51, a nurse at Russells Hall Hospital's A&E department, also ran the marathon - her 21st - and has to date raised more than £500 for the charity which helps to rehabilitate people across the borough who are recovering from heart problems.

Anyone wishing to boost her sponsorship can donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jane-pugh3.

In total the charity expects to receive a boost of more than £10,000 from all of the fundraising runners who pounded the streets for the cause which helps more than 1,000 cardio vascular patients each year to regain their health and fitness.