A DUNFERMLINE man will pound the London streets his late father used to patrol in a marathon effort to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK.

And James Luff, 41, of Linburn Road, set out to boost his total by offering 26 raffle prizes from generous local businesses for the 26 miles he'll tackle in the capital on Sunday, April 26.

The draw was made on Sunday and included prizes from firms in Dunfermline including Cafe Wynd, Envy Hair and Beauty, Casa Mia, Bob & Berts, Play Planet, Smashburger, Koku Shi, Seven Kings, Adventure Golf Island, Escape Dunfermline, Scampers, Carlucci's, The Viceroy, Sweet Chestnut, Waterstone's, Nando's, Odeon and Scampers, as well as Knockhill Racing Circuit.

James, who works for the Phoenix Group in Edinburgh, said: "In 2014, my dad, Andrew, a retired policeman, passed away from bowel cancer so that's the charity I've been raising money for.

"He walked the beat round central London, a lot of the route I'll be running, so it seemed a good tribute to him and a chance to raise money for the charity.

"My wife, Rachael, came up with the raffle idea. We went round local businesses in Dunfermline and explained what we were doing and they've been amazing, really supportive.

"We set out to get 26 prizes but we've actually got about 30 now. It's mainly smaller businesses that stepped up, a lot of the bigger corporations say they get so many requests that they don't offer anything, so it's made me even more determined to help these local firms."

As a result, he's been giving them plenty of plugs and singing their praises on social media, and tickets were sold for £1 a go.

He added: "I've got to thank Lauriston Nursery, where my son, Jacob (four), goes, as they've been selling tickets and running a 'Guess the Bear' for me too. It's heartening how everyone has pulled together.

"It'll be a mini-break in London for him but I think he's more excited about seeing Big Ben and Buckingham Palace!"

A keen half marathon runner, as well as a Dunfermline parkrun regular and commando park trainer in the Glen, he's clocking up the miles in the wind, snow and rain in preparation for his first full marathon.

"When I think of what my dad went through compared to a bit of running, this is nothing really," he said.

"When we were speaking about it, there were so many people who knew someone who had been affected by bowel cancer. It's the second-biggest cancer killer.

"Bowel Cancer UK is one of the smaller charities so you know the money is going towards investigating causes of bowel cancer and trying to find a cure."