Support from family and friends encouraged two charity runners from Ledbury to cross the finish line together during Sunday's Paris Marathon.

Bruce Rowell and Andrea Seeberg had been training together since last October on the country lanes around Ledbury.

It was the first full marathon for both and they finished in five hours in a field of 30,000 runners.

Mr Rowell raised £1,500 for the British Heart Foun-dation and Mrs Seeberg raised £1,000 for Cancer Research. They are not ruling out taking part in next year's Paris Marathon.

Mr Rowell's wife, Jo, said: "There have already been murmurs about doing another one.

"I think the support we gave them really helped. It was a proper spring day in Paris and the atmosphere was wonderful. Bruce and Andrea decided to take it slowly and stay together along the route."

Mrs Rowell cheered her husband on together with their children, Eleanor, aged six, and Molly, eight, both Ledbury Primary School pupils.

Mrs Rowell said: "They are very proud of their dad and they were wearing British Heart Foundation tee-shirts."

Mr Rowell's parents were also there and the party encouraged the two runners on from a variety of locations, including by the Eiffel Tower and the Place de la Concorde.

Mrs Seeberg was supported by a number of her French friends and also her eight-year-old daughter, Annie, who is in Molly's class at Ledbury Primary School.

When the two friends crossed the finishing line, they were surprised to find themselves being interviewed by a television crew from Croatia.

Mrs Seeberg decided to run for Cancer Research because her father died from the disease, 18 years ago.

She first heard of its onset when she was working in the French capital on April 9 - the date of this year's Paris Marathon.

Mr Rowell ran for the British Heart Foundation because his father, Tony, had successful heart surgery at Papworth Hospital ten years ago and made a complete recovery.