TWO sisters raised more than £2,000 for charities close to their hearts by taking part in the London Marathon.

Helen Small, aged 42, from Wordsley, pounded the streets of the capital on Sunday in aid of Dudley Action Heart, based at Russells Hall Hospital, while her 40-year-old sister Rebecca Carpenter, from Kingswinford, ran to raise funds for the British Lung Foundation and Birmingham Children's Hospital.

It was the second marathon mum-of-two Helen, a special needs teacher and part-time fitness instructor, had taken part in and she beat her previous time by six minutes, finishing the race in four hours, 49 minutes.

However it was the first time Rebecca, a mum-of-three, who works as a physiotherapist in the lung function unit at Russells Hall Hospital, had took on the challenge but she finished in a respectable five hours, two minutes.

Helen said: “It was such an amazing experience. The support from spectators was incredible, they really kept you going. I met up with my sister after three miles and we ran together which was great.

“We managed to see our parents just after Tower Bridge, which was a real boost, but made us cry -not good when you need to run.

“ I had to leave Becky at 19 miles as she was starting to slow down a little and my stride still felt quite strong.”