THE brother of leukaemia victim Julia Hember is running the London marathon to raise money for a charity.

Marcus Hember, 27, from Codford St Peter, will run the 26 miles through the capital in April to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust.

His sister Julia, 33, died in June 2003 after a 12-month battle against leukaemia.

Mr Hember, a former St Laurence School pupil, has since been raising money and encouraging volunteers to register as donors.

He said: "I have been trying to get people to register in the past as well as helping out with fundraising.

"It seemed like the right thing to do because although we couldn't find a donor for Julia hopefully in the future we can save somebody else's life.

"I wanted to raise money for Anthony Nolan because they tried so hard to save Julia's live and we were so grateful."

Miss Hember, a former pupil at Stonar School, Atworth, worked as a freelance photographer for most of her life, taking pictures for the Guardian and Channel 4.

The Wiltshire Times tried to find a donor for her through the Save a Life appeal and volunteers from all over the county donated blood samples.

Mr Hember, who serves in the Royal Navy, thanked everybody that tried to help his sister including staff at Virgin Mobile and Wiltshire County Council.

He said: "We were so grateful for everyone that registered.

"The procedure to donate bone marrow used to be quite debilitating but with modern techniques you can be back at work the next day."

Anyone who wishes to sponsor Marcus can do so at www.justgiving.com/marcushember