A Hereford man whose illness makes it exhausting to carry out even routine activity is taking on the London marathon.

Stewart Lovatt, aged 51, will join a team of 240 runners aiming to raise £325,000 for the charity Parkinson’s UK when he runs the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, April 28.

He hopes to raise more than £3,000 and is calling for the local community to sponsor him.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition for which there is currently no cure, and it affects around 145,000 people in the UK.

Stewart was diagnosed in 2014 and decided to sign up to the marathon to raise funds for pioneering research.

This will be Stewart’s fourth marathon but his first since being diagnosed.

“Although the symptoms were beginning to show, and I knew something was wrong, it was still a shock to be told that I had Parkinson’s.

"It was a truly life changing moment. Until then I had led a very active life and had served for 25 years in the army.

“My Parkinson’s symptoms include slowness of movement, tremor, balance issues, shuffling, tiredness, anxiety, depression, and cognitive issues.

"This hugely impacts on every area of my life, from putting my shoes on and cleaning my teeth, to working, my hobbies and family life.

"I have limited energy to use daily and it takes me a long time to carry out simple tasks. I have to prioritise everything, and I’ve accepted that sacrifices have to be made, but it’s extremely frustrating.

“My Parkinson’s also affects my running. It makes my muscles contract, and I have a leaning posture meaning it’s occasionally a battle to stop stumbling over.

"I also find running up hill exhausting. But any exercise, especially running, improves my condition – I move better and I think better.

“I’ve always wanted to do the London Marathon and the most important aspect won’t be the time I finish in, but participating in such a huge fundraising event surrounded by runners representing so many causes and making a difference."

" I’m taking part raise money for research and to say thank you for the support the charity offers.”

To sponsor Stewart visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StewartLovatt

To take part in a sponsored run for Parkinson’s UK visit www.parkinsons.org.uk/running, call the Events Team on 020 7963 3914, or email events@parkinsons.org.uk