A host of Nottingham Evening Post reporters are gearing up to take part in a charity marathon.

A team of 18 runners from the paper will take part in the Robin Hood marathon, half-marathon and fun run next Sunday to raise money for the paper’s Start-a-Heart appeal.

The appeal, a joint initiative by the newspaper and the St John Ambulance aims to create a network of life-saving defibrillators in busy public places to try and cut the number of deaths from cardiac arrests.

The paper’s team, which includes campaigns editor Jane Abbott, hopes to raise enough money to pay for a defibrillator outright – at a cost of around £2,600.

The machines, normally only found in ambulances, can shock a failing heart back to life if applied within eight minutes.

Jane said: “We have reported regularly on the endevours of others who have put themselves out to raise money for Start-a-Heart.

“But we wanted to do something ourselves to boost the appeal – and what better way to do so than by getting ourselves fit into the bargain.”