A devoted Upton son has signed up to take on the challenge of the Berlin Marathon to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of his beloved mother.

Gary O’Reilly will head for the German capital to take part in the marathon on September 24 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation but it will be his mother Deirdre who will be on his mind during the event.

He said: “23/07/1997 – a date ingrained in my heart and mind forever. This was the day that my beloved mother Deirdre died suddenly of a massive heart attack whilst on holiday in Menorca at the age of 51.

“Like a scene from a film I was speaking to Mum one minute and then the next day I was flying out to Menorca to ID our beautiful Ma.

“Like so many others who have lost loved ones to heart related disease, I have always struggled with the suddenness of Mum’s death and I want to turn that pain into pounds.

“So in memory of the 20th year of the passing of my Ma I am running the Berlin Marathon for the British Heart Foundation on September 24 to raise vital awareness and funds for research in to this killer disease.”

Gary has to raise £2,500 to be able to take part in next month’s event and has made a lot of progress towards achieving that goal but still needs help to get him past the fundraising finishing line.

Visit http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/gogaryo to find out more and to sponsor Gary’s marathon challenge.