ONE man from Basingstoke decided to put a special twist on his finishing of the London Marathon- by proposing to his girlfriend of nine years.

Shane Dowling battled through the blazing heat in a time of 4 hours 27 minutes, to get down on one knee and propose to Rachel Ashworth, who said yes.

Shane said: “It was a bit different, I wanted to do something original and it was definitely unexpected for her. It was a really good day for it as well.”

He was joined by many members of his family, including 11-month old Archie, the pair’s son.

Shane added: “It was really hard, I hit the wall at the 18-mile mark, but the crowd were supportive, and it was such a brilliant atmosphere with a lot of energy.”

He has raised over £2,000 for the mental health charity Mind.

To see more of Basingstoke’s runners, see this week's paper.