A Kingston firefighter swapped his hose for a cape as he joined thousands of fancy dress fundraisers for yesterday’s London Marathon.

Simon Jakeman, 43, ran dressed as classic comic book character Bananaman and had to summon all his superhero strength to complete the run in four hours and 22 minutes, after recovering from a fractured ankle and having trained for only four months.

He has so far raised £1,100 for the Royal Marsden Hospital, in Sutton, and Reverse Rett, a UK charity working on treatments for Rett Sydrome – a rare genetic disorder that causes growth deceleration in children.

Mr Jakeman said: “It was a really great day and I was cheered so much - it was like a Mexican wave all round. The noise was incredible.

“Obviously I was in full fancy dress this year and I didn’t walk, that was the main thing. I was quite hot with the gloves as well. It was just like one big street party.”

Mr Jakeman, of Somerset Avenue, Chessington, completed the marathon despite slipping and fracturing his ankle last year – part of the reason he chose to run as Bananaman.

The Bananaman comics tell the story of how Eric Wimp transformed into a muscled, caped figure when he eats a banana, though Mr Jakeman chose the costume mostly due to the fruit’s slippery skin and his unfortunate fall.

Having served as a firefighter for 20 years, he chose his charities because a colleague died last year at the Marsden, and a distant relative was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome when she was just two years old.

He added: “I just wanted to do it for them. A lot of the people diagnosed can’t walk or have any hand movements or anything like that. They’re just going backwards.

“It got people sponsoring me.”

Mr Jakeman was joined by 47 firefighters from across the capital as part of London Fire Brigade’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

Four firefighters broke the world record for the fastest time in a four-person costume by dressing up in a cardboard fire engine and running the course in less than six hours twenty-three minutes.

Donate to Mr Jakeman’s run HERE.