Marathon triumph for wounded veteran

The ex-soldier, who has completed a string of charitable walks since sustaining serious spinal cord injuries in 2008, was joined for part of the last leg of his journey by Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Maj Packer completed the marathon in 25 hours and 55 minutes, meeting his target to complete the route in 26 hours for 26 charities.

Speaking as he crossed the finishing line, the 37-year-old said: "Last year it took 14 days – I think you could say this is some improvement. This was tough."

The ex-soldier was drenched in a downpour early on in the race but said he had been lucky to avoid any heavy rain for the rest of the route.

He was cheered by hundreds of supporters – including TV host Ben Fogle – as he completed the gruelling 26.2-mile course near Buckingham Palace.

Maj Packer, who was this year raising money for charities including Great Ormond Street, Scope and the National Autistic Society, has raised more than 1.3m for charity.