STOURBRIDGE fundraiser Lucy Kirwan has described completing her first London Marathon as an "amazing" experience.

The 38-year-old detective inspector raised more than £2,700 for children’s charity Barnardo’s after competing in Sunday's 26.2-mile race.

Lucy completed the event in three hours 54 minutes - just beating her four-hour target.

She also smashed her £2,000 fundraising target to reach £2,775 but people can still make donations to boost her total by going to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-kirwan1.

Lucy, who chose to support Barnardo’s as she works alongside the charity as a child protection detective inspector for the police, said: “It was really good to have people cheering you on throughout the course. The level of support was amazing.

“My husband Craig was at mile nine and mile 23, and there were Barnardo’s cheer-points too. It was such a boost to see them, they really keep you going.

“I was running behind people and reading their tops and their reasons for competing, and I started to feel really emotional. The whole day was really inspiring.”

Around 140 runners took part in the event for Barnardo’s. The charity's chief executive Javed Khan said: “Running a marathon is an enormous challenge which requires many hours of training and perseverance.

“We are incredibly grateful to everyone for their fundraising which enables us to continue our vital work supporting thousands of the most vulnerable children, young people, parents and carers across the UK.”