FIVE Warrington men went the distance by running a marathon in tribute to a friend who died of cancer and as a way of saying thank you to the hospital ward that treated him.

Ray Elliott, Don Sharp, Alan Mealing and Roy and Mark Kerfoot were all friends of Barry Lewis, from Birchwood, who died from the disease aged 41. Barry was treated by the staff of A1 ward at Warrington Hospital.

Ray Elliott said: "Barry was treated very well. The hospital staff were very kind and we really appreciated it."

The five ran the Wolverhampton marathon to raise money for a new dynamap heart-monitoring machine raising £638.

This was topped up by the League of Friends to buy the machine.

The five were rewarded for their marathon efforts this month when the new machine was presented to grateful staff and patients on A1 ward.