ARMY veteran Amyas Godfrey, who was training to run the London Marathon in full combat assault gear, is not going to allow all of his hard work go to waste.

Instead of taking to the streets of London on October 4 he will be completing 26.2 miles along the tow paths of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Mr Godrey from Great Cheverell is raising money for the charity Combat Stress and has already raised nearly £3,000.

He said: “On the day the elite athletes will run in London but everyone else is welcome to run it in their local area tracking their progress.

“So after nearly a year of training, I am going to run my London Marathon along the canal between Devizes and Bath.”

He said he had chosen the charity to raise awareness of the ‘soldier’s burden’ such as PTSD, stress and depression.

The father of two, who served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq, will wear the 25kg combat assault order gear.www.justgiving.com/fundraising/amyas-godfrey