LITTER picking London Marathon runner Richard Warren is itching to get home to clean up the streets of Hullavington again.

Seventy-year-old Mr Warren, of Royal Field Close, can often be seen out training in the Hullavington, Norton and Foxley area, where he is well-known for sweeping the streets clean as he goes and usually collects two carrier bags of rubbish on a five-mile run.

Last time he was rewarded for his efforts when he picked up a ticket for a free McDonald's apple pie.

Now, after his absence at the weekend for the London Marathon, he said: "I need to get back and make sure the rubbish is gone."

He said he found it hard to resist the temptation of stopping to pick up discarded water and Lucozade bottles. "They were everywhere, all across the road," he said. "It is difficult when you've got an obsession to tidy the place up. The sweepers have a mammoth job."

Mr Warren, a member of Sherston Drama Group, took up running seriously in 2008 for his health, because he wanted to make sure he was around to take care of his wife Lynette, 55, who has multiple sclerosis (MS).

She was there at miles 16 and 26 to support Mr Warren and their daughter Louise Clarke, who ran the whole distance together and have so far raised nearly £2,000 for the MS Society and the Swindon MS Therapy Centre.

It took them seven hours, while the weekend before he did the Corsham 10K in 70 minutes.

"It's a long time to be on your feet, but I'm fine," he said.

"When I did a 10K 20 years ago I had to keep stopping to walk. Now it's just a trip down the park."