Running on emotional adrenaline

EXHAUSTED dad Sergio Aguiar sank to the ground after finishing the London Marathon yesterday, with a photo of his daughter, Southport murder victim Alice, on his T-shirt.

- By Jan Disley

He was joined in the race by David Stancombe, whose daughter Elsie was also killed in the knife attack at a dance class in Merseyside last July along with Bebe King.

Emotional Sergio was helped to his feet by two volunteers, who handed him his medal. Holding it up with pride, he said Alice "stayed with me and helped me go forward to cross the line". The two fathers’ fundraising runs were a tribute to the girls and they were aided by Jinnie Payne, headteacher of the school where Alice, nine, and Bebe, six, were pupils.

The trio were among more than 56,000 starters a record for any marathon in the world. Sergio was raising money for a new school playground, performance stage and library.