FREE Press staffer John Lockyer was among a handful of West Somerset athletes who crossed the finishing line at Sunday's London Marathon and raised thousands of pounds for good causes.

John, 61, automatically qualified for next year's race after finishing in a very respectable time of three hours 41 minutes.

He even bettered his time from his last London Marathon outing five years ago when he finished the 26-mile course in three hours 54 minutes.

And his efforts this time round raised over £1,000 for the charity Children with Cancer UK.

"I'm really pleased with my time and would like to thank everyone who supported me," said John.

As well as working for the Free Press, John is a well known local musician and will be holding a 'thank you' gig in Williton's Wyndham Arms pub on Saturday, May 9.

In Watchet, Adam Taplin, the chef at The Bell Inn, was also running his second London Marathon and finished in a time of three hours 21 minutes.

He beat his time of two years ago by almost 40 minutes and came 4,615th out of over 38,000 runners.

Adam was running for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of his grandfather, who suffered from vascular dementia before he passed away in 2000.

Adam, 30 next Wednesday, said: "I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored me and taken part in our fundraising events.

"Thank you to all the local businesses and individuals who have donated prizes for our raffle.

"I would also like to thank our local Dementia Friends group for all their support.

"This is a cause very close to my heart and I'm delighted to announce that at present, we have raised over £2,000."

It was the first London Marathon for Minehead Running Club member Matthew Bowden.

The day was cool but dry and, with "incredible" crowd support, he finished in three hours 45 minutes.

In the process, he raised more than £200 for the Downs Syndrome Association.

Minehead's Kevin Lumley, 42, completed the course in a time of three hours 28 minutes – but said he had to really dig deep to cover the last nine miles.

He ran in aid of the Brain Tumour Charity and raised more than £2,500.

In the run-up to the marathon, he trained five days a week and covered more than 450 miles.