TWO years ago, Iain Letch was paralysed from the neck down and facing life in a wheelchair, now he is about to run the London Marathon.

Miracle man Iain, of Friern Walk, Wickford, intends to complete the 26.2 miles within four hours.

The engineer has been training hard for next month’s slog, despite breaking his neck during a football match just two years ago.

Iain, 27, has an extra incentive to get to the finish line safely. He is getting hitched to fiancee Ali Gurner, 35, just five days after running the marathon.

Iain said: “It’s going to be a busy week, that’s for sure!”

He was injured while playing in a football match for Billericay-based Saturday side Hannakins Farm.

He said: “I remember lying on the stretcher and not being able to move at all. It was scary.”

Iain was airlifted from the pitch to Queen’s Hospital, in Romford, where tests showed he had broken his neck.

He was later transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire, which specialises in spinal injuries, for six months of rehabilitation.

Doctors warned him he may never recover and could stay paralysed.

He said: “I tried to stay upbeat and positive as much as I could, but there were times when I had to think about what I would do if I never recovered.

“I thought I’d have to sell my home and completely change my life to fit around being in a wheelchair. But it goes to show what the power of positive thinking can achieve.”

Slowly, but surely, Iain started to recover, gradually gaining control over his limbs.

He made such a good recovery that last year he and brother-in-law Stuart Gee, 33, also from Wickford, decided to enter the London Marathon after watching last year’s event on the TV.

He said: “We started running for a mile at a time, taking it slowly. But on Saturday we did a 21-mile run.”

The pair hope to raise at least £3,000 for the Spinal Injuries Association.

Despite being fit enough to run a marathon, Iain can no longer do many of the things he used to take for granted.

He added: “Before I was injured I made the most of life. I’d travelled and done white water rafting, skydiving and bungee jumping.

“Now I can’t do any of that or play any contact sports, but I don’t care. To me family is the most important thing.”

* To sponsor Iain and Stuart, visit justgiving.com/iainandstu