THE East Lancashire vicar whose prayers led to his severely jaundiced infant grandson's instant recovery has completed the London Marathon.

Accrington's area dean the Rev. Ian Enticott raised more than £5,000 for medical charity Unique after completing the 26.2mile course in 4hrs 13mins and 41 secs.

The Vicar of St James and St Paul’s in the town turned to the power of prayer when he visited his daughter Keren Franks' home in Cheshire nearly two years ago.

Last week he spoke for the first time about how his severely-ill two-week-old grandson Henry recovered after he was moved to seek divine aid.

The Rev. Enticott was running on behalf of ‘Unique’, the rare chromosome disorder charity, which is supporting Henry as he continues to face ongoing challenges because of a specific 'chromosome deletion'.

He completed the marathon well inside his target time of 4hrs 30mins despite a foot injury.

The Rev. Enticott said: : “I am really grateful to everyone who has donated to support Unique as a result of my run.

“So far we have brought in more than £5,000 – which is £2,000 more than my original target and with Gift Aid added in we hope to reach more than £6,000 as a final total.

"Between all the nine Unique runners we hope to raise more than £40,000 for the charity, which is absolutely phenomenal.

"I am delighted personally too with the run time I achieved. The London crowds really keep you going - and they included many members of my family, including my wife and daughters."