A GRANDMOTHER inspired by the strength and determination of kids suffering from leukaemia says she is confident she can run 26 miles to help them.

Christine Kitchen's grandson Lewis, now aged four, was only five months old when he was rushed to Pendlebury children's hospital in Manchester suffering from hypoglycemia.

He was very ill and it was a tough time for all the family - but Mrs Kitchen says she will never forget the spirit of all the children on the ward.

"We never knew if we were going to come home with him or not. His condition was frightening and very serious but there was no way of controlling leukaemia and so although he was ill we realised how lucky we were," says the sales assistant from Skerton, above left.

Now Mrs Kitchen is ready to take on the challenge of the Flora London Marathon to raise money for the charity group 'Children with Leukaemia'.

She aims to raise more than £1,500 for the cause with her friend Margaret Garside, who is also running in the Mr Men and Little Miss Team for the nationwide group.

The pair are spending every spare minute either training or fundraising for the event on April 17 and say they are ready for the race.

Anyone wanting to sponsor the pair can do so by logging onto www.bmycharity.com/v2/chrismargaret.

E TWO local bobbies are swapping their shiny black boots for training shoes ahead of switching beats to the Flora London marathon. Jon Stephenson and Chris Smith will pound the streets of the capital to raise money for Crimestoppers.

E Andy Wait, Dave Ball and Dave Kirby from Lancaster will be running in the marathon for the deaf-blind charity 'Sense'. None of the three friends have completed marathons in the past but have all wanted to run in London event for some time. To sponsor Andy, Dave and Dave call the Sense marathon line on 0207-272-7858.