TEN YEARS after her father almost died in a fishing accident, a Callington woman is running the London Marathon next month for the lifeboat charity which was instrumental in his rescue.

Carolyne Graber, 44, is in training for the 26-mile run but needs to raise £2,100 to guarantee her 'Golden Bond' place running for the RNLI.

Alan Soady, who comes from a long line of Looe fishermen, survived after spending 90 minutes clinging to his nets in icy waters when he was thrown from his fishing boat in the summer of 1999.

Suffering from severe hypothermia he had almost given up hope of being rescued when his boat was spotted by the crew of a yacht. The rescue was a team effort between the yacht crew, the Looe lifeboat and a Royal Navy helicopter.

Carolyne said she had always been impressed by the work of the RNLI but it was not until her father's dice with death that she realised how vital the service was: 'It was incredible. They were short of crew members that day but there was no hesitation — they just went out with no idea what they were going to face.

'We are so grateful for what they did that day and ten years on it seemed like a good idea to do something like this to raise money for the RNLI.'

Mr Soady, who is now retired, will be cheering on his daughter as she runs through the streets of London on April 26, the day before his 66th birthday.

'I think dad was astounded and amazed that I was going to run the marathon,' she said. 'I am no runner but I am very stubborn and even if I have to crawl across the line I will do it. It may take me five or six hours but I am determined to get there.'

Carolyne's training includes regular trips to the gym, swimming and even salsa dancing to get her in shape. As well as the challenge of running, she still needs to raise more than £1,000 to reach her target of £2,100, all of which will go to the charity.

A maths teacher at Saltash Community School, Carolyne is busy approaching local businesses and holding fundraising events in her spare time and would welcome any donations. She is organising a sponsored horse ride in Saltash on April 11. Anyone who wants to join in or add a donation can call her on 01579 383724.