A SOUTHAMPTON man wanting to help a crime-fighting charity is determined to finish the London Marathon in four hours.

Michael Collett decided to raise money for Crimestoppers after his partner’s 90-year-old nan lost a significant amount of money when she was a victim of cowboy builders.

“I have never been a victim of crime, but it can happen to anyone,” he said.

The 31-year-old is now determined to run 26.2 miles for the cause at the event on Sunday. To finish the race in his targeted time Michael will need to cover a mile every nine minutes.

Michael said Crimestoppers was more important than ever with a backdrop of cuts to police funding.

He added he wanted to “play his part” in helping to build a safer community through the charity which allows people, with information about crimes, to stay anonymous.

The cause's guarantee of anonymity to those who passed on information has not been broken in the charity’s 29-year history.

To train for the event Michael has been running 25 miles a week on average.

His colleagues at John Lewis, where he works, are also helping him to raise cash with a number of fundraisers including with a ‘guess how many sweets are in the jar’ competition.

Michael said: "I remember seeing the London Marathon on television as a child and was taken by the atmosphere just from watching on TV. So now having the chance to run and compete is fantastic."