A visually impaired man from Letchworth has beaten his target of finishing the London Marathon in four and a half hours.

Instead, Nick Kyriacou, finished the race in four hours, 27 minutes and 29 seconds.

The 26-year-old suffers from rare conditions that cause light sensitivity and involuntary shaking of the eye.

The medicinal chemist almost lost his sight completely at one time, due to uveitis, which caused pain and changes to his vision.

He was diagnosed with this condition at the age of eight, with treatment taking around six years.

The visual impairment that Nick lives with today causes him to struggle with distant objects, and means that he must get very close to see words on a laptop.

Nick Kyriacou ran the TCS London Marathon for Sense, a charity which supports those living with complex disabilities.

In all, Nick raised £1,004 for the charity.

He said: "It feels absolutely wonderful to be able to tick the London Marathon off my life list.

"The joy, relief, and accomplishment I felt after crossing the finish line was incomparable to anything I have ever experienced.

“I am feeling so incredibly grateful to the wonderful crowds of people who motivated me to keep going, all the staff at Sense who supported me along this journey, everyone that donated to my fundraising page, and to all my friends and family who came to cheer me on throughout the day.

"This is definitely not the last the London Marathon will see of me!”

Nick admitted that he found the stretch between mile 17 and mile 22 the most challenging, adding: “At this point, my legs were aching, my feet were hurting, and I felt a complete drop in energy.

"Experiencing the immense support from the crowd after the point, coupled with the fact that I knew I was on the final stretch, completely energised me and allowed me to push on for the final four miles.”

Sense's chief executive, Richard Kramer, commented: “A huge congratulations to Nick on completing the London Marathon.

"The money he has raised will help ensure families and people living with complex disabilities across the UK receive the support they need.”

You can still donate via Nick's JustGiving page.