Lost boy found in marathon

A youngster ran after his dad at the start of a half-marathon race to give him a bit of support and then kept on running for the entire 13 miles.

Ian Scoggins, 12, is basking in the glory of his achievement but was in hot water at the time as he didn't tell his parents what he was up to.

Mum Mary Scoggins said: 'He only went to cheer his dad on and run the first bit with him, but then he vanished. 'After 45 minutes he still wasn't back so I started panicking.'

Dad Ian, who finished in 1 hour 45 minutes, said: 'I saw him behind me after about two minutes, then looked again and he'd gone. I assumed he'd gone back.'

The frantic parents enlisted the help of police on site to search for Ian.

'I was in floods of tears worrying about him,' said Mary. 'Then all of a sudden he appeared at the finish line all red-faced. 'We asked him where he'd been and he said he'd run the half marathon. We didn't believe him, then people kept coming up and patting him on the back saying how well he'd done.'

Ian, who attends Miltoncross School in Portsmouth, said: 'My legs are really hurting now. I thought I might get lost on my way back, so I kept running. Then once I'd started I wanted to finish it.'