A MARATHON runner, who had nearly £1,000 in sponsorship money stolen from his home, has vowed to work to pay the money back.

Graeme Sergeant, of Cavendish Drive, ran the London Marathon in aid of Help A Local Child. Since then he has collected almost £1,000 which he had hidden in Tuperware containers in his kitchen.

But on Monday, early in the morning as he and his girlfriend Helen Preston were in bed upstairs, thieves broke in by taking a pane of glass out of his kitchen window.

They rifled through the downstairs rooms, and stole the charity money as well as the contents of Helen's handbag including money she had saved for a holiday, and her mobile phone.

Graeme was distraught when he realised what had happened. He said: "I had been meaning to drop the money in to Rock FM but I was waiting until I had collected the lot. It's such a sickener. The thieves took it all except a few cheques, which they left lying around on the floor outside."

Graeme still has a small amount of money to collect and with the cheques, there's about £230 left. But he has vowed to get the money back.

Graeme, 33, who works as a plasterer, said: "I won't let the charity miss out. There are a lot of deserving children who were depending on this and I won't let them down. I will do extra jobs at night to make it up."

Graeme has a month to raise the missing cash.

Anyone who thinks they may know something about the theft, should call Preston Police on 01772-203203.