An Ilford man completed the London Marathon in memory of his cousin, who died last year from a cardiac arrest.

Manjit Bedi, 56, was one of 350 runners who took to the streets of London on October 3 as champions of the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

His cousin Surinder Singh Bedi, 58, died after an unexpected cardiac arrest; although CPR and a defibrillator initially saved his life, he died days later.

Manjit raised £1,050 for BHF, which saw its income cut in half last year after most of its fundraising events were cancelled and its shops forced to close for months.

BHF London Marathon runners have so far raised a total of more than £911,000.

Manjit, who completed the marathon in 3 hours 29 minutes, said he was running the race “so more research can be done so less people die of cardiac arrest”.