A TRAFFIC officer from North Yorkshire Police has thanked everyone who supported him in the London Marathon this weekend.

Sgt Paul Cording has been with North Yorkshire Police for 16 years, and with the Road Policing Group for the last seven years, and ran this weekend to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

He had hoped to raise £500 for lifesaving charity, but donations had now reached more than £4,000, more than a day after he finished the run.

Sgt Cording completed the course in four hours, 53 minutes and 45 seconds, and said the whole experience was "quite humbling".

He said: "It was epic. The whole day from start to finish, even from leaving the accommodation the place was buzzing with runners.

"Everyone was there with their own story, and it was a bit like a rollercoaster - you feel good and not so good at different points. At one point when I wasn't feeling my best, I caught up with someone running with a picture of a baby saying they were 'born asleep' and it put things into perspective."

Sgt Cording chose the air ambulance as his charity because of all the times he had seen them in action in his time on the force, and his knowledge that without their assistance, many people may have lost their lives without timely treatment.

Sgt Cording is back at work on a late shift tonight, and said he was happy with his finish time, but even more so with the fundraising total.

He said: "I would have liked to have broken four-and-a-half hours, but it was hard work. There was no way, unless something catastrophic happened I wasn't going to complete it. I owe a massive thanks to everyone who donated.

"We'll see what happens on the shift tonight. That's the beauty of policing, no two days are the same, so we'll see what happens. But I would appreciate it - if there are any criminals reading this who are planning to be out tonight - I would prefer it if they didn't run."