In September 2017 my dear friend and colleague Dougie Ford passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack at the age of just 56 years old. Dougie was a wonderful man who helped me a lot when I first started out in my policing career. His quick-witted, dry humour was always something that would brighten up a dull day and he was always there if you needed someone to talk to. His sudden passing has left my friends and I are in total shock and we are all deeply saddened.

I would like to raise money for Heart Research UK in Doug's memory to help fund research that could prevent others suffering a loss like this in the future. Heart Research UK primarily funds medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease and develops the experts of tomorrow by helping clinicians to gain new skills and expertise.

Heart conditions affect more people than we realise in today's society:

• Around 1 in 4 deaths that ever occur are attributed to a cardiac problem
• Every 7 minutes someone dies from a heart attack in the UK
•  1 in 3 people that suffer some from of heart attack die before they even reach hospital
• Heart disease is responsible for 74,000 deaths each year in the UK alone, that’s around 200 people every single day
• Over 75,000 people are living with some form of heart failure in the UK right now, and any of their hearts could deteriorate in an instant

Any donations towards this wonderful charity and in the memory of Dougie Ford will be gratefully received. The London Marathon will be no easy feat but I am willing to smash it out of the park with all of your support towards the fundraising.

Thank you!