Former Otley rugby player Andrew Rayner is preparing to run in a record-breaking seventh marathon.

The 45-year-old, from Ilkley Road, Otley, lost his parents to cancer and has had other relatives and friends die from the disease.

In 2005 he began entering sponsored races for the World Cancer Research Fund in their memory, and has now run more marathons for the charity – five in London and a sixth at Loch Ness – than anyone else.

Andrew, known to friends as Billy, is hoping to finish his seventh marathon for the cause in under four hours, and to add to the £9,500 he has raised so far.

He said: “I’m proud to be running for the World Cancer Research Fund once again. I’ve had several relatives and friends, including both parents, who’ve suffered from or lost their lives to cancer – which is why I support the charity and the research they do into the causes and ways of stopping the disease.

Read more about Andrew's story in the Gazette & Observer.