Dozens of runners from Oxfordshire raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity in the annual London Marathon yesterday on the hottest April day in ten years.

Among the many who found the going tough was Oxford Mail sport writer Ed Mezzetti, who was forced to stop with heat exhaustion almost within sight of the finishing tape.

Mr Mezzetti, 27, a keen runner with the Oxford Athletes Club, admitted: "I just keeled over.

"I didn't realise just how much the heat had affected me. It took about half an hour to recover, but I still managed to finish it."

He hoped to have raised about £2,000 for Oxfam and said: "There were a lot people suffering from the weather. People were sitting at the side of the road along the route.

"I got a lot of cheers as I hobbled through the tape."

He wasn't the only one. Temperatures hit 21C at midday - equalling the 1996 record - and went slightly higher in the early afternoon.

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St John Ambulance had to treat more than 5,000 runners, with 73 sent to hospital for further treatment.

There were 36,391 runners.

Oxfordshire fireman Mike Swadling, 34, and fellow firefighters from the county HQ at Kidlington, Gary Crone, 36, and Andy Smallwood, 34, braved the soaring temperatures in a bid to raise more than £3,000 for the Silver Star charity, which supports mothers and babies at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Crew manager Mr Swadling, who ran the route on his own, admitted: "It was very hot, and a couple of times I saw people drop out right in front of me.

"But it's all been worth it as the Silver Star is a magnificent charity."

Three PE teachers from the Cheney School in Oxford decided to give it a go and all ended up tired but happy with their efforts.

Phil Reece made the finish in 3hrs 31, while colleagues Emma Hart and Andy Ransome crossed the line in 4hrs 1m and 4hrs 56m respectively.

One Oxfordshire contender who never thought she would walk without aid, let alone run a marathon, was Lyn Owen, 48, who broke a knee several years ago in a quad bike accident.

The first-time contender, who finished in 5hrs 39m, was accompanied by her personal trainer, John Stocker, 27, who runs the Evolve Personal Training Centre in Bicester. Mr Stocker said: "It's been a long journey, and given that Lyn underwent 14 operations and was told by surgeons that she would never walk again without sticks, it's a wonderful achievement."

Among the stars who ran the 26 miles were chef Gordon Ramsay, rugby star Matt Dawson, model Nell McAndrew, Apprentice TV show winner Michelle Dewberry and Olympic hurdler Sally Gunnell.