Two crews of firefighters who tackled the Grenfell Tower blaze have finished the London Marathon in what has been confirmed as the warmest race on record.
The North Kensington red watch, which was the first crew on the scene at the fire last June, is raising funds for groups that support local people affected by the fire.
They hope to raise £50,000 for children who survived or were impacted by the tragedy so they can access crucial services like counselling, alongside lighter relief in the form of discos, dance classes, art therapy and parties.
You can donate to their cause here. The team has raised just over £41,000 so far.
“Everyone at North Kensington Fire Station would love the children of our community to grow up with their lives defined by happy times and achievements, not by a tragedy,” reads the team’s JustGiving page.
“Please donate and help to make this a reality.”
The Paddington red watch, which also attended the disaster, is raising money for to help victims and families as well as the Fire Fighters Charity, which provides physical and psychological support to the firefighters who attended the blaze. They ran the first and last mile in their full kit.
It aimed to raise £70,000 and has already reached more than £86,000. You can donate to their cause here.
London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton led the congratulations to both crews.
Race organisers had previously urged runners to reconsider aiming for personal bests and suggested ditching the fancy dress costumes amid the unseasonably warm April weather.
It would go on to be the warmest London Marathon on record, with the Met Office posting highs of 23.2C (73.8F) – beating the previous best of 22.7C (72.8F) set in 1996.
Among this year’s runners were a police officer stabbed in the London Bridge terror attack and members of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. Sunday marks 25 years since the murder of the teenager, who was a keen runner.
Britain’s Mo Farah claimed third place in the men’s marathon, setting a new British record 2:06.22 - a record which had previously stood since 1985.