A GOOD Samaritan clergyman helped an injured marathon runner - dragging him for nine miles to the finishing line.

Father David Pickett was competing in the London Marathon when he stepped in to help a fellow contestant who tore a calf muscle 17 miles into the race.

The Rector of St Oswald's Church, Guiseley, was running to raise around £3,000 for the Royal British Legion when he came to the aid of the fundraiser who was also taking part for a military cause.

The rector, who previously served with the RAF, was helped by another member of the British military to keep the injured serviceman in the race and to take him across the finishing line. All three men were raising funds for military charities.

He said: "The two runners were called 'Hoops' and Jules - first/nicknames are always used in the military. I don't know their full names , but we don't tend to over publish full names for obvious reasons.

"We found Hoops at 17 miles struggling with a torn calf muscle. He was running for the charity Combat Stress as he himself suffers from it after two tours of Afghanistan. Jules and I - having both done tours there ourselves, and trying to better less than 5 hours - decided to stop and help him over the last nine miles. We came in at a time of 5hrs 40, but together.

"Hoops was absolutely delighted, hugged us and said that he'd never have made it without us. THAT is what the London Marathon is all about! A good day really."

Fr David is no stranger to endurance tests. Last year he braved rain, fog and deep mud to complete a 23-mile run to raise nearly £1,000 for church repairs. His 23 years as an operations officer with the RAF saw him serving in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2000 he was awarded the MBE for services to the RAF and the Samaritans. He is chaplain to the Guiseley branch of the Royal British Legion branch which celebrates its 95th anniversary this year.

Branch secretary Elsie Turner said: "We are proud to have Fr David Pickett as our branch chaplain and very much thank him for his support in running the London Marathon."

Born into a mining family in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, Fr David trained for the priesthood at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield. He moved to Guiseley in 2014 with his wife Sarah and their five children.

His fundraising for the church has included the Three Peaks challenge which he completed dressed as St Oswald, King of Northumbria. He wore the outfit again for the 23-mile Rombald's Stride last year.