Teacher Andy Laker ran the London Marathon to raise £900 with the help of his students.

Andy, 27, who teaches business studies and maths at Dorcan Technology College, finished the race in three hours 25 minutes.

Having run 15 marathons including six London Marathons this was intended to be his last one. But he wasn't pleased enough with his time, so he will try again next year.

He said: "At first I was going to call it a day. But students changed my mind. They said: 'Get back on the horse. What sort of example are you setting?'"

His tutor group rallied to the cause of helping him raise as much money as possible for Look, a charity which supports families with disabled children.

A sponsored silence, haircuts and a chocolate and crisps fast were just some of the ways the 13-year-olds raised money.

Andy, from Old Town, also held a competition to guess his finish time. He was aiming to complete the 26-mile course last Sunday in under three hours 10 minutes.

He said: "I had just got over a cold, so my time was a bit disappointing. But it was still great to be so well supported."

Mr Laker, from Old Town, first started running five years ago to get fit. He decided to run the London Marathon and finished in 4hours 45 minutes.

He has now completed the race six times. Running further afield, he has also competed in marathons in New York, Prague, Barcelona, Dublin and Turin.

Mr Laker said: "I trained 60 miles a week for the last one. It wouldn't be right to give up now. So roll on the next one."