MEGAN Bradley, aged 22, from Malvern, has been selected to represent the charity Friends of the Elderly at the 2018 London Marathon.

Since the age of 16, Megan has been volunteering for Friends of the Elderly at its day care services in Malvern and Kidderminster run by sister organisation, Triangle Community Services.

Megan’s mother, Shirley, is the manager of the services and inspired her to get involved with older people in her community from a young age.

Megan said: “My mother’s undoubted passion and love for Friends of the Elderly an the people within it has been a massive part of my life.

"I want to be able to support the charity further by taking on what is going to be the biggest challenge of my life so far.

"What Friends of the Elderly does for the older community is of endless inspiration to me, and knowing that not all older people are able to receive the same incredible care that this charity provides, makes me extremely sad.”

Between now and April 22, Megan will be training around Malvern and Manchester, where she is studying international fashion promotion at university.

Megan has also long been singing and performing with her guitar, and will be using these talents to host charity gigs in the coming months. She also plans to organise cake sales, clothes swaps and book sales.

Gemma Leary, group fundraising manager at Friends of the Elderly, said: “We are really hoping the Malvern community is going to get behind Megan.

"She has some fantastic plans for fundraising events to raise money for Friends of the Elderly and has already made a great start on her training.

"We have one guaranteed place in the marathon every five years and so ran an application process to pick the person who we felt was most aligned with the organisation and would be committed to helping us raise awareness of the work we do.

"Megan’s passion for older people and supporting the charity is amazing! Good luck Megan, we are all behind you.”

Follow Megan’s training progress and find out about her fundraising events by following her on Twitter and Instagram @marathonmegfote or through her fundraising page uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fotemeganbradley.