THE grandfather of a young boy who lost his life to cancer says his grandson’s aspirations inspired him to take part in the London Marathon.

Vic Bojan was raising cash for Children with Cancer UK when he took part in the world famous event in memory of his late grandson Jacob Jones.

Jacob, from Braintree, passed away at the age of five in December 2017 after a fight with neuroblastoma. Fundraising efforts for treatment had made him widely known in the community.

Since his tragic death, his family have continued to raise money for the charities which helped Jacob and so far Vic’s marathon tilt has seen him raise around £4,000, smashing his initial target of £1,500.

Vic, 69, completed the gruelling race in six hours and 40 minutes and said he was partly inspired to run in the event after Jacob told him: “When I get better, I want to be a nurse, so I can help other children”, while he was undergoing treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Vic said: “It was hard and the last eight miles were quite tough – I did end up walking for some of it which is what I expected.

“You hear about people struggling the next day but I woke-up on Monday morning and I felt okay so my wife and I went and climbed to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral which is 527 steps.”

During the marathon Vic wore a necklace which was given to Jacob by the Beads of Courage programme while he was undergoing treatment.

Vic said: “For each procedure the child has they get another bead to add to their necklace so it was very moving to wear it.

“Children with Cancer has linked up with Beads of Courage so its top 500 fundraisers, which included me, carried two beads during the marathon. One of them will be sent off with a note of encouragement to a child who is ill and I get to keep the other one.

“I think the other point to make is that care for children with cancer is hugely underfunded and Children with Cancer is only a small group in comparison to some of the larger charities.”

To donate visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/vicbojan.