A DEVOTED dad is running the London Marathon in honour of his teenage son's battle to overcome a debilitating stroke.

Stephen Griffith, head gardener at Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens, was devastated when his son Ben suffered a stroke at the age of 14.

The sporty teenager collapsed while he was playing with friends in Bridport and lost control of his body from the chest down.

His friends had to carry him home and summon medical help.

Mr Griffith said: "No-one recognised the symptoms and when he was in hospital we thought it was a spinal injury.

"It was devastating for us as parents - prior to that he had been playing after school football and was in the rugby team."

After the stroke, Ben was kept in hospital for two months and remained wheelchair-bound until he regained use of his legs.

Two years on, he is now walking around independently and has taken up kayaking and windsurfing.

Mr Griffith said: "We were always optimistic about Ben coming back 100 per cent.

"A lot of his recovery was down to his willpower and he's never accepted not being able to get around.

"He has been thinking ahead all the time and has put so much into working on his recovery."

Ben, of Swyre, is now preparing to take his GCSEs at Sir John Colfox School in Bridport.

Much of his recovery process was aided by the Stroke Society - the charity Mr Griffith is running the London Marathon for.

Mr Griffith said: "We didn't know much about strokes when Ben had one and thought it was only something that happens to older people.

"But we found out there are cases where even new-born babies can have strokes and that it can happen to anyone at any time.

"We thought it would be nice if we could help out in some way and make a contribution to help them keep the charity running."

This year's marathon will be Mr Griffith's second - he last ran it in 2003.

But the race will have extra meaning for him this time when he is greeted by Ben at the finish line.

He added: "When I do it I'll be thinking of people who aren't capable of doing the marathon and feeling grateful that at least I can achieve it.

"There's going to be a great atmosphere out there - it's like one big carnival and I'm really looking forward to it."

Mr Griffith is hoping to top up his marathon funds on March 14 by giving a talk at Burton Bradstock village hall about his travels through Chile. Tickets, costing £6 each, are available on the door.

Steve can be sponsored by visiting justgiving.com/stephengriffith1.