BREAKING the five-hour barrier is actor Tom Verrall's ambition when he takes part in his fourth London Marathon in April.

The 41-year-old, from Ullington, near Evesham, has dedicated his run to his father who died of bowel cancer in 2002 and is raising money for the charity Bowel & Cancer Research.

He completed his first marathon in 2005 in an agonising five hours and 45 minutes.

“I was hopelessly naïve,” said Tom. “It seemed like a good idea but I hadn’t realised what a big task it was. When I hit the wall at 18 miles, I was running on reserves and it was very painful. I learned my lesson.”

Undeterred by his lack of speed, he has kept running ever since and hopes to do a lot better this year.

“The London Marathon has always captured my imagination. The people who line the route, the cheering, the atmosphere - it really does show the best of London. I’ve had taxi drivers donate to my cause. It’s a very emotional and powerful event that brings people together," he added.

Cheering him along the way on April 26 will be ‘Team Tom’: work colleagues from his office in Alcester, sisters Sally and Jane and four nephews Sebastian, Dominic, Sam and Joe.

His mum Peggy will be there too, proud that Tom is running in memory of his dad Douglas who died at the age of 63.

“If there were more money going into research, dad’s chances of survival might be better today. That’s why I’m pleased to be supporting Bowel & Cancer Research,” said Tom.

The Chief Executive of Bowel & Cancer Research, Deborah Gilbert, thanked Tom for his support.

“Bowel Cancer affects 41,000 people in the UK every year and claims the lives of 16,000. Our aim is to ensure that more people survive in future and the support of people like Tom is invaluable,” she said.

As a student Tom won the Comedy Award at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has mainly played comic roles since, which usually involves wearing a wig. As well as several high profile advertising campaigns, he's appeared in the popular BBC programmes Hounded and Hotel Trubble, Sky's Edinburgh and Beyond (with Al Murray) and Trying Again (with Chris Addison).

He played a mad inventor in the special online episode of BBC's Inside Number 9.

Anyone who wants to donate to his run can do so at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TomVerrall