A father from Wood Green will be running the London Marathon to raise money for a hospital in memory of his baby son.

Darren Smith will be taking on the 26.2-mile challenge in memory of his son Isaac who passed away only five-days-old on August 1 2012.

The 33-year-old, of Arcadian Gardens, Wood Green, will be running to raise money for Evelina Children's Hospital based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, which he says worked so hard to save his son.

He said: “It was such a traumatic time for both of us but the thought of raising all this money for the hospital has really driven me. It has given some for us to focus our grief on.

“It is a way to turn a tragedy into a positive and raise as much as we can to help other families in a similar situation.

“What really surprised me about the hospital was that people are not aware of the work they do their and the pioneering treatments they have.

“I cannot speak highly enough about the hospital and the support they gave us. They were fantastic."

Isaac was conceived using IVF treatment and 37 weeks into the pregnancy Darren and his wife went for their final scan at North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton.

The check up went fine, but leaving the building his wife started to bleed out and it was found Isaac's heartbeat began to slowly drop.

He was born following an emergency C-section but doctors discovered his heart had stopped beating.

After 21 minutes a feint heartbeat was detected he was moved to intensive care.

He was then transferred to St Thomas' hospital in central London where he was treated with pioneering brain cooling treatment to lower his body temperature and reduce the risk of further damage.

After the treatment and more extensive tests could be carried out it was found Isaac had suffered catastrophic brain damage affecting all parts of his brain and he was not going to be able to survive.

On August 1 he passed away five days old in his mother’s arms, with both parents holding his hands.

So far Mr Smith has raised £13,691 for the charity but is hoping to get over the £15,000 mark by the start of the marathon.

Those wanting to sponsor Darren and help him reach his target can so by clicking here.