Marathon runner David Davies has pledged to raise £2,000 for a hospital.

Mr Davies, 35, from Ambrosden, near Bicester, has entered the London Marathon in April for the first time.

He is being sponsored for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, London, where a nephew of his wife Christine has had a long series of operations.

He said: "The relative, Richard Coles, who lives in Cambridgeshire, was born with a skull deformity and had operations at the hospital once a year.

"As the hospital looked after him so well, I decided to raise funds. Richard is now 18 and does not need any more operations. He can lead a normal life and has become an apprentice mechanic for a car company."

Mr Davies is a custody officer at Campsfield House Immigration Centre, in Kidlington. A group of staff have formed a running club and go for training runs after work.

Mr Davies has completed two half-marathons, the Great North Run in Newcastle and the Great South Run in Portsmouth.