A SWINDON man has raised nearly £30,000 in two years for charity and this year wants to add to that amount by taking on the London Marathon for the third time.

Andrew Clifton, 30, who works at Dyson in Malmesbury and lives in Shaw, has organised 10-hour football marathons at the Link Centre and in Cirencester, as well as running the London Marathon twice, in between juggling working full-time, getting married and having a baby with his wife Nicola, 29.

He now not only wants to raise £1,350 for the Micro & Anophthalmic Children’s Society (MACS), which is a charity that supports and cares for children born without eyes or underdeveloped eyes, but also wants to beat his time of five hours and 10 minutes.

Andrew, who has a 19-month-old son Tyler, said: “For kids to be born without eyes is terrible. Becoming a father has made that even more poignant.

“MACS do fantastic work and research to help children and their loved ones deal with, in my opinion, one of life’s scariest thoughts, being blind from birth.”

His fundraising efforts, which saw him have one of the most successful JustGiving pages last year, all started when he got an email at work at Dyson saying there were spaces for the London Marathon to raise money for the charity Spark’s, which funds children’s medical support.

Not thinking he would get a place, he applied and was suvccessful, raising £2,500. Dyson matched the total, taking it to £5,000. The company also matched the other amounts he has raised for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Andrew is also hoping to organise another football tournament later this year with his friend Phillip Johnson and is about to start training for the marathon, which takes place on April 24.

He added: “If people want to donate it doesn’t need to be a lot. I’ve had donations from £5 to £100 and if 100 people gave a £1 that would be £100. I know money is a bit tight for everyone at this time of the year but it makes a massive difference.”

He was also inspired by his 69-year-old father Ian’s own fundraising efforts, which has seen him raise a staggering £55,000 for Derian House Children’s Hospice by decorating his and wife Diane’s house in Lancashire with Christmas lights for the past 20 years.

To help Andrew go to: justgiving.com/Andrew-CliftonLondon2016