MARATHON man Peter Briggs has pledged to run three races for charity.

The property technician for Coast and Country Housing Association will compete in the London Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon and the Redcar Half Marathon. He will be raising cash for Coast and Country's nominated charities: Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Research and Zoe's Place, Normanby, a hospice for children with life-limiting illnesses.

In the past 18 months, Mr Briggs has completed the London Marathon twice and the Loch Ness Marathon to raise more than £2,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief and the Daniel Moutrey Trust.

The trust was set up to provide equipment for James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough in memory of Daniel, who died from cancer aged 14.

Coast and Country has offered to pay £500 to help Mr Briggs cover his travel and accommodation expenses. He said: "I have always been a keen sportsman and I started running about five years ago. In 2003, I joined New Marske Harriers, a local running club, and since then I've become a regular runner and the fundraising side of things is an added bonus. I've set myself two challenges in the coming year, to improve my personal best time of three hours 18 minutes for the marathon and to raise £1,000 for the charities."

Iain Sim, chief executive of Coast and Country Housing, said: "It's great to see our staff keeping fit and healthy and raising money for worthy causes in the process."