Crooks will have to get fit if they are to get away from the long arm of the law.

Sgt Dave Rout is gearing up for his fourth London Marathon and the Harwich policeman is putting his legs to good use.

He joked: "They will have to be quick to get away."

Sgt Rout, of Ramsey, has been a runner for nearly ten years.

He said: "I am not aiming to break any records this year but I will hopefully do all right."

In 1998 Sgt Rout managed a time of just more than three hours. And this year he hopes his wife Sharon will be egging him on on the 26.2 miles around the capital.

He said: "Because it goes all over the place she normally is able to see me two or three times. There is normally a few of us from the Harwich Runners. We get a coach with the Great Bentley team and go there together."

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