THE father of a baby who died from a muscle disease ran the London Marathon to raise money for the charity which helped his son during his short life.

Hasnain Syed, of Cedars Avenue, Walthamstow, completed the gruelling 26-mile challenge in slightly more than five hours, raising more than £6,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC).

He described the run as "the toughest challenge" of his life.

He said: "It was my first marathon as I was coming to the end I told myself it would be my last.

"But it was an amazing experience, the crowds never stopped shouting encouragement, and I never stopped, apart from for calls of nature."

The 36-year-old, and his wife Nosheen, suffered heartbreak in 2003, when their son Rehaan was diagnosed with spinal muscular dystrophy.

Mr Syed said: "About six months after Rehaan's birth he was still a bit floppy, but we thought he was a slow developer.

"But then he was diagnosed and we were told he had just two years to live, it was devastating."

Rehaan spent time at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone and Great Ormond Street Hospital in west London, but spent his final days at the Syeds' home and died aged just 14 months.

He said: "Our house was turned into what was practically a hospital and Rehaan died in his bed." The couple have since suffered a second tragedy, when six-month-old daughter Aniqa died from a bone marrow infection.

MDC provided valuable support and equipment to help Rehaan, for which Mr Syed remains extremely grateful. Mr Syed said: "Raising money for MDC means that the hard work was all for the benefit of current and future generations of people affected by muscle disease.”

The term muscular dystrophy describes a range of hereditary diseases which lead to progressive muscular weakness or wasting.

The severity of the conditions range from mild dystrophy affecting elderly people to severe disorders which kill a child in the first years of life.

More than 70,000 children and adults in the UK have muscular dystrophy or related conditions. For more information about MDC visit http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org To sponsor Mr Syed visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/runforlives