A co-founder of a child amputee charity is to run this year's London Marathon in memory of her mother who died in a horrific bus crash.
The April 27 event will be especially poignant for Victoria Panton Bacon as just two days before, it will be the 10th anniversary of the incident in the capital which also left her niece and sister with life-long injuries.
Ms Panton Bacon set up Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope (ELoH) with her sister, Sarah Hope, six years ago after noticing that child amputees around the world often don't get the prosthetic legs they need to live a normal life.
READ MORE: All about child amputee charity Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope
The same crash that killed 65-year-old Elizabeth Hope also left Sarah and her daughter Pollyanna – the inspiration behind the charity – with serious injuries.
Pollyanna, now 11, lost her left leg below the knee.
'Dealing with life when it throws things at you when you least expect them is very, very hard,' she said.
'But my family have drawn a lot of comfort in knowing that through that tragedy, we're making the most of it in a little way by carrying on my mother's work.
'She was far too young to die and, at 65, she was a busy an energetic person.
'I felt I needed to do something to carry on her life.
'Child amputees are some of the most stigmatised in the world.
'They might have a good brain but if they simply can't get up, they can't go to school and they don't get the start in life they deserve.
'We give them prosthetic support that is comfortable and gives them the opportunity to run, skip and play.
'Our job is to help these children in the best way we can. It is hard enough when a child loses a leg but if that child isn't being given the help to walk again – we were just so shocked.'
It will be the second time Ms Panton Bacon has run the event.
She has urged 1,000 people to sponsor her £5.
'I know on the day that the crowds carry you and the adrenaline pushes you with every mile,' she said.
To donate, search for Ms Panton Bacon's Virgin Money Giving page.
READ MORE: How EDP broke the news of the bus crash at the time
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