A politician plans to celebrate his 65th birthday by running the London Marathon to raise money for a charity that supports people living with cancer.

Councillor David Schmitz is supporting the 20th anniversary appeal of the Leukaemia Cancer Society by taking part in the 26.2 mile run on April 13.

The Bounds Green-based charity aims to save more lives by encouraging potential bone marrow and stem cell donors to join the National Donor Registers.

Cllr Schmitz, who represents the Harringay ward, said: “We must do whatever we can to give as many patients as possible a chance to survive.

“The society’s work needs every support, and I’m glad to give it by devoting a significant birthday of mine to a significant one of theirs.”

The Liberal Democrat politician has so far raised £666.20 for the charity but aims to hit his target of £1,600 by the time of the marathon.

The charity concentrates its efforts in communities where there is a shortage of donors and where the outlook for patients is correspondingly worse.

When it comes to finding matching donors, the odds for a patient from the Mediterranean are about one third of those for a patient from northern Europe, and the odds for patients from Africa or Asia are even worse.

The society also provides accommodation and other support for people who come to London for medical treatment and who cannot afford to house themselves.

It also provides trained counsellors to help patients and their families to deal with diagnosis, to support them during treatment and to cope with bereavement.

Cash raised also funds medical research to find a cure for the disease.

To donate to the Cllr Schmitz visit www.justgiving.com/David-Schmitz or directly to the LCS on www.leukaemiacancersociety.org