FIREFIGHTER Alan Gibson is preparing to pound through the streets of London tomorrow.

Mr Gibson, a senior firefighter with the County Durham brigade, will join thousands of other runners on the 26.2-mile course.

As part of his job, he inspects safety measures at the Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, in Durham, where the management gave him £500 for his chosen charity, Cancer Research UK.

Mr Gibson has completed a number of events, including the 9/11 run in New York and this year also hopes to complete the Great North Run and the Three Peaks challenge in England, Scotland and Wales.

He said: "I have always enjoyed keeping fit and the challenges of long-distance running, and even more so on this occasion, as I will know that with every step I will be helping to raise money to support the tremendous work of Cancer Research UK.

"I would like to thank the Prince Bishops Shopping Centre for their generous sponsorship."

Centre manager Richard Toynbee said: "It is such a worthwhile cause and we hope that our money will help aid the organisation in its continued research."