Hero’s welcome at Blackfriars Settlement for marathon man Lester Reeves

The quiet of Sunday afternoon was broken as people came out of Blackfriars Settlement with flags and welcome placards to see Lester arrive still wearing his running clothes.

He had just raised £1,727 of his target £2,000 for the charity where he is a volunteer with the older people's service.

"I felt great this morning," he said although he admitted going up The Mall was "extremely hard".

He completed the course in 3 hours, 46 minutes and 30 seconds.

"I started volunteering for Blackfriars Setllement three years ago," Lester added after blowing out the candles on a special cake.

"Lots of national charities get lots of people raising thousands for them so I thought this year let's have a local charity."

Blackfriars Settlement was founded in 1887 to support local people young and old through a range of services and activities. The Great Suffolk Street location is a temporary home whilst its centre in Rushworth Street is rebuilt.

• If you'd like to help Lester reach his £2,000 target, visit www.justgiving.com/LesterReeves1

• Read about some of the other SE1 locals who took part in the marathon.