Wounded army veteran Major Phil Packer has spoken of his delight as he crossed the finishing line at the London Marathon earlier - smashing his personal record by 13 days.

The ex-soldier, who has completed a string of charitable walks since sustaining serious spinal cord injuries in 2008, was joined for part of the last leg of his journey by Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Mr Packer completed the marathon in 25 hours and 55 minutes, meeting his target to complete the route in 26 hours for 26 charities.

Speaking as he crossed the finishing line, the 37-year-old said: "Last year it took 14 days - I think you could say this is some improvement. This was tough."

Mr Packer stopped for a break just once to receive physiotherapy after beginning his walk shortly after 10am on Sunday.

But he said: "I'm not going to get any time to rest even now - there is work still to be done in terms of fundraising."