A Melbourn man who survived skin cancer is set to run this Sunday’s London Marathon dressed as a sun cream bottle, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

James Lovelace, 41, is taking on the 26.2-mile challenge in a Ultrasun sun cream bottle costume, with the company sponsoring his efforts.

Having survived melanoma cancer after being diagnosed in 2015, Craig is hoping his costume will highlight an important message while also protecting him from the sun on Sunday.

“I am trying to raise £5,000 and hopefully more, and there is a good message there I think in terms of being safe in the sun, with my history and background and the outfit I am wearing,” he said.

“It will also serve as a vital shade for me on the day of the marathon if it is sunny, as I cannot go in the sun any more as a result of my previous diagnosis.”

It’s not the first time James will have run the marathon, having taken on the challenge in 2016.

Royston’s Craig McMurrough will also be running on Sunday, with the 44-year-old dressed as a giant ovary in memory of his sister Cheryl Earnshaw, who died from the disease three years ago.

Cheryl died just a week after being diagnosed, with Craig recalling: “It was so quick.

“Cheryl passed away in June 2016 and the April before that she was helping our auntie to move house.

“In May she had seen her GP complaining of bloating and fatigue, but was told it was nothing serious and that she might have fibroids.”

Craig will be running for Ovacome ovarian cancer charity, a charity which he has already raised £20,000 for through other marathons, sky dives and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Runners from Barley charity Khandel Light, who work to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Rajasthan will also be taking part in the run.

Khandel light was started in 2000 by my husband Dr Peter Gough and a group of volunteers to improve the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged families in Khandel and surrounding villages in the desert state of Rajasthan,” explained Bridget Gough.

“Poverty is more than a lack of money it is also a lack of capability and opportunity.”