A SPECIAL Constable who shed a remarkable seven stone is now aiming to run this month’s London Marathon for charity.

David Smith, who works for Barclays Bank and also volunteers as a special constable with the police, hopes to complete the gruelling course in four hours and 30 minutes on Sunday, April 23, while helping to raise vital funds for the charity Crimestoppers.

The 32-year-old, from Poole, said: “Family and friends have been very supportive, especially with preparing for the big day in London. Some think I’m being a bit crazy and are quite shocked, but it’s worth it.

“I’m grateful for their support whilst fundraising and would also like to thank Barclays for matching my fundraising effort pound for pound.”

Speaking of his weight-loss journey, David said: “It was three years ago that I found I couldn’t buy clothes in the high street and used to get tired out just from walking around - I thought, enough is enough. And now, with a lot of hard effort, I’ve realised that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.”

David’s experience volunteering for the police gave him the motivation to take part in the London Marathon.

“I volunteered for around 1,000 hours last year with the police, mostly with the traffic department. It made me realise that Crimestoppers, whilst separate, plays a valuable role in giving the public another way to help tackle crime,” he said.

A spokesperson for Crimestoppers said: “Crimestoppers is an independent charity that empowers people to speak up who have information about crime but may, for a variety of reasons, not want to contact the police directly.

“Our guarantee of anonymity to those who pass on information about crime has not been broken in the charity’s 29 years history.”